Piccolo, Creature of the Night
by Elieare
Summary: A few months after the Cell Games Dende senses a disturbance below the Lookout on Earth.  Curious, Piccolo goes to investigate and stumbles upon an odd creature that in the course of their fight, changes him forever...
1. Introduction: The Disturbance

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for any DBZ stuff or characters, the characters throughout this story are creations of Akira Toriyama**.

_Hello peoples. This is a little introduction to my first fan fiction; it stars Piccolo (cuz he rocks) and takes place a few months after the Cell Games. I'm debating whether or not to include the Buu Saga at this point, but the World Tournament is definitely coming up, just not in this segment. Well, here it goes, I look forward to your reviews (just don't rip me to shreds please) and I hope you enjoy it!_

**PICCOLO, CREATURE OF THE NIGHT**

**INTRODUCTION: THE DISTURBANCE**

"What's wrong Dende?" Piccolo asked as he saw the young Guardian of Earth stir. In truth though, Piccolo had also felt something. Perhaps it was just Kami's abilities, but ever since the full moon had appeared, a feeling of uneasiness and death had been in the air. "An odd _chi_ has appeared," Dende said. Piccolo searched in the area Dende was looking at and immediately found the _chi_ he was talking about. "It's close, I'll check it out," Piccolo removed his weighted cape and turban and took off from the lookout towards the odd chi. It was close; it actually took longer to get down to earth then to the site. Piccolo felt nervous; he hadn't paid attention to his senses earlier, but now that he was in the vicinity of this _chi_, the death and evil clung to the air and made him feel like he would choke on it. There was also a smell, one he knew well too; someone had just been killed. He saw bodies outlined by the moonlight.

There were nine of them. He didn't even bother to check if they were alive, he could tell from a distance. Not only did they lack chi signatures, but he could also tell from their wounds. Whatever had done this was brutal, deep gashes, body parts torn from their owners body, internal organs spilled, and all were laying in a pool of blood. Piccolo stayed silent and bowed his head in reverence. At one point in his life, such a scene wouldn't have phased him, but now… he was a different person. "_We have bodies Dende_," Piccolo communicated telepathically, "_I'll bury them once I track down whatever did this to them_." "_How many?_" Dende questioned. "_Nine- three of them are children…_" No reply, just silence, remorse most likely, had left the little guardian speechless.

Piccolo examined the area more closely, there was no way someone could kill these people and not get blood all over themselves and leave a trail to follow. Normally, he would just track down the thing's energy signature, but according to his senses, it was all around him. This was odd, he normally could pinpoint his enemy to its exact location and not a general area, but nothing about this was normal. Piccolo was squatting to observe a footprint when his super-sensitive ears picked up a rustle behind him. He had hardly time at all to react as a huge mass charged him. Piccolo sidestepped it, but sharp claws still raked his chest opening deep gashes. He staggered and winced in pain. The thing took advantage and went for another attack but Piccolo was able to counter this time. He side-kicked it across the clearing as it approached. It yelped, but was back on its feet and attacking again instantly. Piccolo and the creature fought fiercely, and although the Namekian warrior was stronger, he was having a hard time fighting it due to its insane speed and stamina, only clipping the creature with every attack. Finally, he landed a brutal back kick square in his enemy's chest. He felt and heard bones break. The monster hit the floor and didn't stir. Piccolo hadn't killed it yet, but he certainly wounded it critically.

The Namek relaxed a moment to catch his breath, and then he cautiously moved towards it. Faster then Piccolo could trace, the thing pounced him and sunk sharp teeth into his shoulder. His body went rigid; pain erupted from his shoulder and spread through him. Piccolo tried to attack but his body felt heavy, paralyzed. He pushed aside the pain and forced his arm to move, slowly raising his arm, placing it on the creature's stomach and released a blast that completely obliterated it from abdomen and on down. He pushed aside the rest of the corpse and staggered to his feet. Everything around him was spinning. Piccolo focused on what attacked him and was astonished to see it changing into something _humanoid_.

"_Have you found it yet?_" Dende spoke into Piccolo's mind once more. "_I think so_." "_Are you alright?_" "_Yeah, it just, it bit me, and I feel really weird and… and once I killed it, it changed into something that looks almost_ human." "_What? Are you sure it wasn't human-like the entire time?_" "_I'm positive Dende, nothing human-like could fight the way it did, and it doesn't have teeth sharp enough to make the wound it gave me. Besides, it defiantly looked like an animal_." "_You don't sound too good, come to the lookout so I can heal you, okay?_" "_But I… I gotta… gotta bury the bodies_." "_Let me heal you first, it's not like the bodies are going to get up and go anywhere_." Piccolo managed a weak chuckle, "_Alright fine, I'm… I'm coming_." He took a step forward, but stumbled to the side. He was dizzy, disoriented, and his head and shoulder throbbed unbearably. He tried to move forward again but lost balance and fell over. He turned onto his back and looked at the sky, waiting for everything to stop spinning before he attempted to get up again. "_I can't get to you, I'm too dizzy_," he finally sent to Dende.. "_Are you bleeding that badly?_" "_It's not that, I haven't bleed out enough yet to effect me like this yet. It's, I don't know what it is- I've felt like this ever since I was bitten_." "_Alright, stay there, I'll come to you_."

"_Alrigh_-" Piccolo started to say but caught sight of the full moon. An odd sensation filled the Namek's body. "_Piccolo? Piccolo?! Hold on, I'm coming_!" But Piccolo didn't even hear Dende as another wave of that odd feeling flooded his body, followed by agonizing pain. His heart raced, he painted hard, desperately trying to breath through the pain. He turned over and got to his knees, he didn't know what was happening. Then, an even greater pain swept through him as he began to transform. His rib cage shifted and grew larger, as it did, so did the rest of his body. He cried out in pain, then the transformation quickened and completed. Piccolo was no longer in control, he had become what was thought of as a myth among humans: a werewolf.

_Intrigued yet? Well if you are, please let me know and I'll think about releasing some more soon. J/K I'll do it as soon as my schedule allows it. I'm on "break" right now so I should get a chance, but I say "break" because I have four hours of marching band practice every weekday, a major competition coming up and lots of homework so we'll see, and please send me reviews!! Elieare (pronounced, L.E.R.) _


	2. Chapter1 Rampage, Capture and Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for any DBZ stuff or characters, most of the characters throughout this story are creations of Akira Toriyama**.

_Now that I've released the hopefully drag-your-reader in part, I'll start chapters. Um, I tend to be a rather long-winded writer, so they'll probably be long chapters, but I'll try to keep them from being completely obnoxious. Hope you enjoy it! So, read on and find out what Piccolo does the first time he transforms…_

**CHAPTER 1: RAMPAGE, CAPTURE, AND BEGINNINGS**

Overcome by the desires of the wolf, the newly transformed Piccolo howled at the moon, and began running. His destination: the Lookout, for as in the legend, he instinctively was hunting his friends, Dende being the closest. Neither he nor his freshly acquired wolf side was in complete control, the two were struggling against each other, bringing his uncontrolled madness in which he would surely kill anyone who he came upon. Two figures suddenly appeared before the Namekian werewolf. He growled and charged them, but they were accustomed to this, after all, they too were werewolves, and their job was to catch this newly bitten wolf and prevent his rampage from ending with a killing spree of his friends.

Piccolo rammed into one, and despite expecting it, the stranger was knocked over roughly. The other attacked but Piccolo dodged and growled.

The first said, "Hmm, I'm gonna transform, this one's powerful, we don't want to draw attention by going easy on him and peeking someone's interest and bringing right in the middle of this."

The second nodded, "Don't overdo it though Jax." Jax removed his shirt and shoes and quickly transformed, his baggy pants adjusting to his new size instead of ripping. Threatened by Jax, Piccolo charged again, but this time, before he connected with Jax, his opponent countered and sent him sprawling to the floor. The second stranger threw a special net onto Piccolo, who struggled futilely. Then Jax picked up his discarded clothing, placed a hand on the struggling, snarling mass of the raging werewolf along with his companion and with a flash, all three were gone.

Dende had been watching Piccolo since he lost contact with him and witnessed the whole scene. He was just about to contact Gohan when the second werewolf who had captured Piccolo appeared.

"My name is Luke," he spoke, "My partner, Jax, and I have just captured a friend of yours. I'm here to tell you not to worry, we will return him in the morning once his transformation has ended." "How do I know I can trust you? I don't even know what you are," Dende protested.

"You don't have to trust me, but tomorrow your friend will be returned and not a moment sooner. Until we meet again," and with a flash, he was gone.

"Mr. Popo does not like this," the short gardener of the Lookout and Dende's friend said. " sigh Nor do I, Mr. Popo, but he did allow me to read his thoughts, he was telling the truth."

"What are you going to do?"

"Wait until morning and talk to Piccolo about it," Dende replied.

"What about Gohan?"

"No, it would only worry him, besides I don't know that much anyways, so all I would be able to do is tell him Piccolo's gone but is supposed to be returned in the morning. We couldn't actually do anything. Yes, we should definitely just wait, if he's not returned then I'll contact Gohan."

"Ugh…oh," Piccolo groaned as the lights were switched on. His head pounded and his entire body ached; he couldn't move the arm with the bitten shoulder, and his _chi _(ki for those who don't read the manga)was out of whack, so he couldn't tap into it and regenerate the limb. He looked around and saw unfamiliar surroundings. He couldn't remember anything after calling Dende for help, how he gotten there, or what happened to his clothes.

"Morning," a man said from behind the Namekian warrior and threw him a pair of pants, "put these on, they're purposely four sizes to big for you but tighten the strings and they'll be fine." Piccolo struggled to get the pants on with his one good arm and tightened the string considerably to prevent them from falling.

"This," the man threw a sling at him, "is for your arm, unfortunately nothing can be done about the headache or the body pains."

Piccolo caught the sling and slid his useless arm into it, eyeing the man suspiciously, "Who are you?"

"Luke, now before you ask anything else come this way and I'll explain what happened," he turned and left Piccolo alone in the cell. Piccolo paused and decided whether of not to follow, he didn't trust the man, but he was curious, though he refused to show it, and he didn't see any other option. This was a rather bizarre circumstance, but the Namek kept his stoic demeanor as he moved to catch up.

"Where is he?" Dende paced nervously, "it's morning all ready, he should be here… maybe I should call Gohan, tell him what happened, but then what? We have no idea where they took Piccolo. sigh "

"Careful Dende, you'll pace a hole right through the Lookout at that rate," Piccolo jested, amused with the young Namek's anxiety over his disappearance.

"Piccolo! Oh, you're hurt, let me heal you."

"I don't know if you'll be able to, but go ahead and try," Piccolo answered as the Guardian walked over to him and began the healing process. The familiar orange glow surrounded Dende, held, then faded, "You're right, I can't heal you, but why not?"

"I'm not sure of the specifics, but it has something to do with my body adjusting to the DNA mutation that has been introduced into my body, I can't use my _chi_ either. It's only for a couple of days, well the _chi_ usage at least, my understanding of the situation though is that you'll never be able to heal me again unless you figure out how my DNA was mutated and even the ones who have studied this for centuries don't know the answer to that question."

"DNA mutation? That's insane, and your _chi_, it's odd, I can't pinpoint your exact location, and it's… different."

Piccolo nodded, "I noticed the same thing about the creature's _chi_ when I tried to track it down, so I suppose it's a characteristic of the change."

"So what exactly happened to you?"

"Well, the thing I was tracking down bit me, and the way the substance that causes the mutations is transferred from humanoid to humanoid is through their fangs, which means that obviously, I received it. Have you looked into human myths?"

Dende was surprised by the question, unsure of what it had to do with what was going on, "Well, yes but what does that-".

Piccolo held up a hand to indicate him to hold the question, "The closest explanation to what happened is that the creature I faced last night was a werewolf, meaning that now, I too, am a werewolf."

"A werewolf?"

"That's what humans refer to them as. You see, the myth actual did have some fact behind it. Quite a distance from here there is a planet that holds a species that call themselves Logomorphs, once they hit puberty, these humanoids begin to transform into a half wolf, half humanoid creature at the sight of the full moon. On their planet, there also exist the species known as Vampyres (yeah it's Vampires, I just wanted to mess with the spelling ) who could transform into bats, lived off blood and could not tolerate sunlight. Unfortunately, the two races began warring and as they spread throughout the galaxy, it was discovered that they could turn other species into Logomorphs and Vampyres by biting them, although not all species accept the change. For instance, there are very few of either race that are humans because the human body tends to reject the change and die from either the mutation or the transformation itself. Anyways, the two species are now against it because of purity of the species and the fact that very few races want to be a werewolf or Vampyre. However there are certain rogue groups on both sides who still go around biting and changing others so they can recruit them."

"One of the rogue Logomorphs leader was threatening a certain family who had discovered their base. They were told if they tried to run or if they reveled the location that someone would go and bite on of the family members on the night of a full moon so that he would rampage and kill his fellows. They promised not to tell and began following the path to a supposed safe house, but that wasn't good enough for the rogue leader, Tormant, so he set them up. That's what I came across last night, the victims of the crazed freshly transformed werewolf. When I began seeking the thing out, it was threatened and attacked me and forced me to kill it. However the Logomorphs had sensed the transformation and had come to capture it, but they were held up by Tormant, and by the time they were free it was too late, so they were just going to leave, but then I transformed and they decided to capture me instead to prevent me from rampaging."

Dende sat a minute and absorbed all of this new information, "So what will you do now?" "Leave," Piccolo said, "I have to be trained so I can properly control my new abilities and the wolf and I need to learn how to fight Vampyres."

"Leave?" Dende didn't really want to lose Piccolo, his last tie to his home, "but once the training is complete you'll return, correct?"

Piccolo thought about it, "I doubt it, the war between Logomorphs and Vampyres is still going on, and I can't risk bringing that here to Earth, probably Kami's influence. Anyways, please don't tell Gohan about this, if he comes around to ask for me just say that I left for training but I wasn't sure where I was going or when I'd be back."

"Why can't Gohan know?" "Because he'll try to help me and… I don't want to drag him into this." Dende reluctantly agreed, "Alright, I won't tell him, I think he should know, but you should be the one to inform him, not me."

Piccolo nodded, "Thanks, see you Dende, I gotta go," he turned, "Okay Luke, I'm ready." With a flash he was gone, leaving the little Namek feeling suddenly lonely.

_Well that's the first chapter, a little bland I know, but at least I got all the background stuff out of the way so I can get to the action parts. (insert evil smiley) I'll work on Chapter 2 as soon as possible, so please don't stop reading (and reviewing, reviewing is nice too)! A special thanks goes out to mangamadde and Mirai-Gogeta for giving me my first two reviews! Seriously, I was totally floored because I didn't think I would get any after only one day, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I'll try not to disappoint! _

_Elieare_


	3. Chapter 2 Enter the Challengers

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for any DBZ stuff or characters, most of the characters throughout this story are creations of Akira Toriyama**.

_Whoot, time for the second chapter!! I'm all psyched today 'cuz I got more reviews (Yay reviews!), band practice went really good and our marching show is friggin' awesome!! I can't wait for the competition tomorrow (it better not rain again like last year and force us to evacuate because the lightning radar thing goes off)!! Anyways, back to the subject at hand, it's time for a jump, and enter the World Tournament. There is certain to be some action in this chapter and let's see how my favorite green warrior is faring as a werewolf (as if I had no control over that _ )

CHAPTER 2: ENTER the CHALLENGERS 

Seven years have passed since the Cell Games and Piccolo's departure. Dende stands at the edge of the Lookout gazing upon the Earth far below. A familiar _chi_ catches his attention, "_It appears Gohan is coming for a visit_," he thought. The older half-Saiyan child of Goku lands next to Dende, "Hey Dende!" "Hello Gohan… um, what _are_ you wearing?" "Oh, this? It's my new disguise, in order to attend high school but still use my powers I had to hide my true identity, so I had Bulma create this suit for me and thought up a name: Great Saiyaman! Cool, huh?" "Umm… I wouldn't know, but I'll take your word for it," Dende replied, slightly skeptical, but keeping his good-natured way, "So what brings you up here?"

"Well, actually I was hoping Piccolo was here…" he looked around for any sign of his old mentor. "…Sorry Gohan, he's still not back yet." Gohan looked worried, "I hope he's alright… he hasn't even checked in?" The Guardian shook his head no. "Hmm, it's been seven years already, I hope he's not… dead," the Great Saiyaman looked upwards towards space, "I wished he had stayed on Earth." "Yeah, me too," Dende said quietly, "but this is Piccolo we're talking about, I'm sure he's fine Gohan." Gohan grinned, his usual optimism taking over, "Yeah, you're right, Piccolo is way too smart and strong to be taken out. Well, if he stops by tell him that there's gonna be another World Tournament in twenty-eight days, and all of us are entering, so it would be a lot of fun if he could come, 'kay?" Dende nodded and smiled, "I'll be sure to tell him if I see him." "Thanks, see ya Dende, I gotta start training!" He waved and took off back to Earth.

Twenty-eight days pass quickly and the day of the tournament has arrived, Goku has retuned for the day, welcomed warmly by family and friends and introduced to the newest member of his family, seven-year old Goten. Then, Goku notices someone is missing, "hey, where's Piccolo? I was sure he'd be here, too." Gohan in disguise drops his head and answers, "We don't really know, he left for training shortly after the Cell Games and never came back. I'm kinda worried about him, I take it you didn't see him in the afterlife?" "No, didn't hear anything either 'bout him either." "Well, at least he's still alive," Gohan said, a little relieved by this knowledge.

"Who's still alive?" Gohan and the group turned to the sound of this familiar voice, "PICCOLO!!!" Gohan cried with glee and had to use every fiber of his being to resist the urge to hug his old mentor and friend. "Hey kid, it's been a while, huh? Although, I guess I can't really call you kid anymore, eh?" "Hey, where have you been?! And what happened to your face?" "My face? Oh, the scar, yeah, got it in a fight," he said with his usual nonchalance, "By the way kid, what the hell are you wearing?" "Oh, it's my disguise, the Great Saiyaman! Cool, huh?" "Cool…um, sure. Why are you disguised." "I'm going to High School and I don't want anyone to know it's me." "Ah, I see." "What about you? Your outfit certainly is different from you usual gi, turban and cape," Gohan commented on the baggy grey pants, black shirt and darker grey jacket the Namek was now sporting. "Oh yeah, the old one made me stick out and was getting in the way."

"Hey Piccolo," a low thundering voice called to Piccolo. "Hey Frank," Piccolo replied to a large beefy man who towered over even the tall Namekian warrior, "I thought you, Jax, and Luke were out on a mission?" "We still are, however, we uncovered a piece of information the pertains to you," the man's piercing light grey eyes that clashed oddly with his dark skin scanned the people around him, "Where's Delenn?" "Of on her own, what is it that you felt the need to slow down your mission and come all the way out here?" "It's bad news," Frank glanced wearily at the other Z fighters than switched to a language no one there but Piccolo and he knew. The two talked for a little while, then Frank abruptly left. "What was that all about," Gohan inquired. "It's nothing, we better register before they close," he changed subject, signaling that he would not discuss the topic any further, Gohan, with his natural curiosity, didn't like being left hanging, but he knew better than to try and force the Namek to talk.

So, the group registered, Piccolo being the last to do so, signing up as Nail. Once they were in the locker rooms waiting for those who had to change Gohan asked, "Why Nail?" Piccolo, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes closed opened one eye, scrutinizing Gohan and answered, "Both Piccolo and Majunior could cause a panic among the audience, however, a Nail has never entered before." "Oh, right," Gohan debated a little, then asked, "who was that guy anyways?" "Who, Frank?" Gohan nodded. "Just someone I met while training." "Ah, hey, that reminds me, where did you go for training?" "I moved around a lot." "Well, what'd you do?" "Well, I fought a lot, sometimes I would battle dangerous criminals and hand them over to the authorities when I needed money. Most of the time though, I was fighting." Gohan wished the Namek was one more of words, he really wanted to know what Piccolo had been up to, but as characteristic of him, he did not yield and Gohan's curiosity was left unsatisfied. It would have kept bothering the half-Saiyan, but meeting up with Videl distracted him.

As the group headed towards the preliminaries, a figure covered head to toe with thick black clothing bumped into Piccolo's shoulder. The man mumbled, "Well, well, so it _is_ you," then walked off. Gohan was surprised to see Piccolo fixed on the spot, shock on his usually expressionless face. After he recovered, Piccolo swiftly turned to get another look at the stranger, but he was gone. "What was that all about?" Piccolo regained his composure, "An old acquaintance," he went to catch up with the others, who had continued without realizing he and Gohan had stopped. "Old acquaintance? You mean like a criminal you caught?" "Sort of." "Sort of? What do you mean sort of? C'mon Piccolo, don't you trust me?" Piccolo stopped, normally he would have ignored the comment, but this was Gohan, the only one who had given him a chance," sigh You're not going to leave me be until I tell you, will you?" "Of course." "Fine then, but you can't tell the others, and I'll need you to keep an open mind." Gohan nodded, ecstatic about this rare break in Piccolo's demeanor.

Piccolo explained what had happened seven years ago, how he had been turned into a werewolf, "After that I left to train to hone the new abilities I gained. However, there was another reason, you see, Logomorphs and Vampyres share the same planet, and due to their inability to be about during the day, they took an interest in the Logomorphs and began trying to enslave them, and eventually this led to war. The war was still being waged when I was changed, so I fought in it. Marcus was the name of the Vampyre leader, and four years ago, we led a special attack and I personally killed Marcus. With his defeat, the Vampyres surrendered, ending the war that had lasted for at least five centuries. However, the man whom just bumped into me _was_ Marcus. He most likely is looking to start the war again, and if he and I fight, it will be the first battle, unless for some reason he has no interest in starting the whole thing up again. Whatever happens though, I don't want you to get involved, and I'll need you stop the others out of it, too."

"What? Not help, but-" "It's not open for debate kid, I need you to promise me that none of you will get involved." "But…" Gohan wanted to argue; he knew that it would be impossible to change the Namek's mind though. "Please, Gohan," Piccolo said quietly, it was rare for him to say that. Gohan locked eyes with his mentor, his face was expressionless, but he knew how to read him, he could see that Piccolo was genuinely worried, "… sigh Okay, fine, but if Marcus is about to kill you I _will_ step in," Gohan affirmed. "Fine," Piccolo said, knowing he had won, "but I'm warning you kid, if you step in before that I will attack _you_." Gohan was taken aback by Piccolo's statement, he knew better than to think that he was kidding, he really would attack him, "_There must be something Piccolo's not telling me, he wouldn't make that threat lightly._" Gohan gulped, "O-okay, well, we better catch up with the others." Piccolo gave a single nod.

"Hey, where'd you guys disappear to?" Krillin asked as Gohan and Piccolo rejoined them. "Oh," Gohan quickly thought up an excuse, "we just got separated by the crowd." Krillin looked around, "Yeah, I can believe it, with all these people around. Hey, isn't that the same announcer from when we were kids," he said and pointed at a thin, blonde haired man Krillin, Piccolo and Goku knew well. "Hey, it's you guys!" The announcer rushed over to them, "Oh wow, am I glad to see you, the tournaments just haven't been the same with your absence. Wow, I knew this would be a great day, but I never imagined your lot would show up! Oh, by the way, tell me," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "it was you guys who defeated Cell, huh?" Goku and Krillin gave a mischievous grin to affirm his suspicions. "I knew it, I never could believe that someone like Hercule could defeat that monster." He looked at the rest of the group, " I see you brought friends, oh, and you too," he said as he saw Piccolo, "hey, try not to break the ring this time, huh?" Piccolo grinned slightly, "No promises, but I'll certainly try." "Ha ha, well I'll see you guys in the ring!"

The group breezed through the prelims and watched Goten and Trunks duke it out in the Youth Division, then the three Saiyans stuffed themselves and it was time for the lottery that would determine the fighting order for their tournament. As they waited for the drawings to begin, they checked out the competition. Piccolo looked over at the three figures covered head to toe in black, he knew one of them was Marcus, the other two, no doubt, is bodyguards. "Hey Piccolo," Gohan whispered so the others wouldn't hear, "are all three of them Vampyres?" "Most definitely," Piccolo replied. "Hmm, I wouldn't mind getting one of them for a match, after all, I bet they're strong." "… I hope you don't have to face one," Piccolo replied. "Huh? Why not, think I'll lose?" "No, you probably won't, but therein lies the problem, elite Vampyres such as those do not take kindly to being defeated, and when they are they mark their opponent, making them a target for all bounty hunters and rogues, it is not something you need." "Mark me, that's why you don't want us to get involved?" Piccolo nodded, "It will certainly be difficult to do that now, since all three are competing." "Yeah, well besides them and our friends though, no one else here seems to be a challenge," Gohan glanced around. Piccolo did the same and smiled inwardly as he saw Mighty Mask, "_So even the young Saiyans found a way to compete, eh? This is indeed turning out to be a very interesting tournament._"

"All right competitors," the announcer called, "when I call your name please step forward and grab a number from the box. Let's begin: Blud." One of the Vampyres went up. "Good, next is, Deth." The other Vampyre walked up. "Blud an Deth?" Gohan whispered to Piccolo in a, what type of names are those voice. "Hey, they're Vampyres, what did you expect?" The drawings continued on, Marcus went right before Mighty Mask and then it was Piccolo's turn. Gohan couldn't help but gasp when he saw the number Piccolo drew, but he saw the dark, excited smirk Piccolo got when he was about to delve into a battle he was sure to enjoy, and from the corner of his eye, Gohan saw the three Vampyres stir. Piccolo was silent after he drew, pulled into himself, thinking, analyzing planning, and Gohan was in a daze, that is until his father brought him out of it. "Piccolo got one of those weird looking people like you did Gohan. They seem strong, but, why on Earth are they wearing all that clothing, you'd think they'd be hot," Gohan smiled at his father's usual random comment. "Yeah, I would imagine it would be."

Then he tried to contact Piccolo mentally, but was stopped by an insanely strong mental barrier protecting the Namek's mind that he couldn't even make a dent in, but he kept trying. Finally, Piccolo realized someone was trying to contact him, "_What is it, kid?_" "_Sheesh, I see physical training isn't the only thing you worked on. Anyways, are you going to be alright facing Marcus?"_ "_It can't be avoided, but the outcome is certainly unclear, it could easily end with him killing me, or I him_." "_You could always forfeit_," Gohan suggested. "_Ha, like hell I can, Marcus would still find a way to fight me, and then no one would try to stop him from starting the war, besides, I'm looking forward to this fight_." "_Really? But, you said it yourself, you could die, and if you lose, the war will start again._" "_I know_." "_That doesn't make you… nervous?_" "_Not really, I suppose it should, but like Goku and Vegeta, I enjoy a fight with a strong opponent._" "_Huh, I never did get that._" "_Yes, it's one of the things that makes you different from the rest of us._" Gohan uncertain of what to say to this, left the warrior to his own thoughts as the lottery concluded. "Alright then, here are the results:

Match 1: Krillin vs. Punta

Match 2: Marcus vs. Nail

Match 3: Deth vs. Great Saiyaman

Match 4: Killa vs. Videl

Match 5: Hercule vs. Number 18

Match 6: Goku vs. Vegeta

Match 7: Mighty Mask vs. Jewel

Match 8: Blud vs. Daren

We will star the first match in fifteen minutes, good luck, and have fun!" The announcer said, unaware of the potential danger among the contestants.

The tournament had begun, Krillin easily defeated his opponent with a single kick, and now it was time for Piccolo and Marcus to battle. Neither listened to the announcer as he introduced the two fighters to the crowd, they simply waited until he was done talking. Then Marcus raised a hand to the sky, but Piccolo did not react, he knew what he was doing. Thick clouds formed quickly and blotted out the sun, bringing darkness almost as thick as night. "Ah, that's better," Marcus spoke, his voice raspy and menacing, and removed the cloak that had protected him from sunlight. Everyone but Piccolo shuddered. Marcus had fangs and pointed ears, but that's not made him creepy, his opponent shared those features after all, but it was his skin and eyes. They were virtually white, as if they lacked all pigment, veins could be seen throughout his body, especially on his bald head. Several jagged scars ran down the Vampyres face, Piccolo recognized those, he had given them to him, just as Marcus had given him his.

"Well, now that you can fight freely," Piccolo crouched and got down on all fours, as a wolf would, his chi exploded, his eyes turned white, all of his teeth grew to fangs and his nails grew to become claws. Marcus' chi also shot up, his eyes turned to an extremely light, and incandescent blue, his two fangs sharpened and grew until they were three inches long, and his nails became sharp and talon-like. The Vampyre spread his arms, like a bat spreading its wings, "Well, this should be interesting," he sneered and swooped down onto Piccolo. The two fought viciously, not even Goku Gohan or Vegeta could keep up with all there attacks, "Wow, Piccolo sure ahs gotten a lot stronger, and his style is completely different," Goku commented. The fight continued for an intense fifteen minutes, but then Piccolo finally got a clean opening and delivered a kick that hit Marcus in the stomach and face with such force it almost sent him out of the ring. Marcus retaliated by suddenly charging and placing his palm on Piccolo's chest and thrusting his energy into his opponent, causing massive internal damage, Piccolo returned the favor by doing the exact same thing. Both staggered backwards, coughing blood.

Once they regained themselves, they continued, still more fiercely. Then, Marcus slashed Piccolo's face with his talons, kicked Piccolo in the back to send him into the air then slammed the Namek back to the ground with his heel in the middle of Piccolo's chest. Gohan winced as he heard a sickening crack from Piccolo's rib cage splitting down the middle. The two fighters got back to their feet with a kick-up and Piccolo moved in to attack, slashing open Marcus chest with his nails, then back flipping and springing forward, head butting Marcus. The Vampyre stumbled, stunned. Piccolo took advantage and delivered a powerful kick to the man's stomach, t his time he did knock him off the ring. The announcer declared, "Nail has forced Marcus out of bounds, and has won the match!" Piccolo knew it wasn't over yet. Marcus stood up, "Well, I see you've improved." "Please clear the ring so we can get to the next match," Marcus laughed at the announcer, "Do you think I give a damn about your stupid tournament? Your match may be over, but this fight isn't." He resumed his attack on Piccolo. The announcer yelled at the two for a while but eventually gave up and just watched, it _was_ a good fight in any case.

They continued fighting relentlessly for quite some time, then broke apart, both wounded and out of breath. "Well, it appears we must settle this on the next level," Marcus panted. He focused his chi, which still remained high in amount, much to Gohan's surprise, and quickly transformed. Marcus looked like a giant white bat with human legs and arms and a slightly human face. He wore shorts that stretched and were the only piece of clothing that did not tear. "Your turn" he said to Piccolo, his voice high and raspy. Piccolo smirked and removed his jacket, shirt, and boots. Gohan gasped at the long jagged scars and burn marks that marked his friends upper body, "What the- where on earth did he get those?" Piccolo concentrated his energy and transformed. The strings of his pants expanded and did not snap or break, nor did the oversized pants tear. "Let's get this over with," he said in a low growling voice…

_Ah, the reader's great dilemma, a cliffhanger. (insert evil smiley) Hey, what can I say; I have a competition today. Well, enjoy the chapter and look forward to the conclusion of this intense battle. Who will win? Piccolo, or Marcus, or perhaps neither will? Hold on and read on when I release more to find out! _

_Elieare _


	4. Chapter 3 Threats, Fights, and a New

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for any DBZ stuff or characters, most of the characters throughout this story are creations of Akira Toriyama**.

_WHOOOOOT!!!! YEAH!! Normally I wouldn't be this happy because my "break" is almost over but Saturday was THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!! For those of you who read these italicized parts, you'll remember that I had a marching band competition. Well, we get a 1__st__ division rating (for those who aren't band geeks, this particular competition isn't one you get ranked like 1__st__ place or anything, but you get a rating: a 5 is like you completely suck, a 4, you sorta suck, 3 you don't suck but you still have some cleaning up to a 2 is a good job and a 1(what my band got) is an excellent and the highest rating you can get) but we normally do that. What blew us away is that we won all three of the extra awards, Outstanding Drum Majors, Outstanding Drum Line AND Outstanding Colour Guard!!!! We've never done that before!!!! I'm SO HAPPY!!!! ____ Okay, you people probably don't care, but I'm a hardcore band geek so get used to it. To the story, in this chapter I will end the battle between Piccolo and Marcus and continue on with the World Tournament, whoot! Enjoy, and my thanks goes out to those who have given me reviews!!! _

CHAPTER 3: THREATS, FIGHTS, and a NEW JOURNEY 

"Let's get this over with," Piccolo said in a low growling voice customary to werewolves.

The two clashed, Vampyre and werewolf, one screeched the other roared. They fought quickly and powerfully, in the air on the ground, on the ring, everywhere but the stadium where the audience watched in a mixture of fear, fascination, and excitement. The two clawed, bit, punched, kicked, and grappled, the pair about even in strength and ability. Marcus fired an energy blast, black in colour, from his hand, Piccolo countered with a blast of his own from his mouth, his a blinding white. The two beams canceled each other out with a dazzling display of light and darkness. They charged each other and began fighting close range, then suddenly, Marcus shot a claw from one of his wings. Piccolo couldn't help but yelp as it tore open his chest the impaled his thigh, nicking a major artery. The Namekian werewolf retaliated by clamping down on Marcus' arm with his powerful jaws and shredding his opponent's wing with his claws. Marcus threw him off by enlarging Piccolo's leg wound, which was bleeding profusely.

Marcus tried to fly up but with only one wing; he was unsuccessful. Piccolo pounced and slammed Marcus into the ground with a punch to the face; Marcus fired an energy blast into Piccolo's chest, sending him into the air. Marcus followed up this counter by stabbing Piccolo in the gut with his talon and ripping it out to the side. Piccolo bit down onto the bat's shoulder then threw him the opposite direction, tearing a chunk of flesh with this maneuver (eww, flesh). Marcus screeched and haphazardly flew away, trying to maintain air height with only one wing. Then he fired an enormous energy blast using all his remaining _chi_. Piccolo fired two blasts, the first a short burst, the other longer, with his entire expendable _chi_ behind it. Piccolo's energy went though the middle of his opponent's and both were hit.

"Why'd he do that?" Videl asked Gohan.

"Hmm? Oh, well he fired two, one to weaken the other blast, and another to pierce the blast. He didn't want them to clash because that would have caused a massive explosion that would've obliterated the stadium and killed everyone watching."

"Hey, look," Krillin said, "both of them are back to normal."

Both no longer transformed, they staggered to their feet. Blood poured from Piccolo's leg wound, even though his hand was on it. Marcus smiled and laughed.

He panted, "Let's end this, neither of us have any energy left, and we're both about to bleed to death. I have no desire to destroy such a worthy opponent and my thirst for war is no longer in favor with the majority of the Vampyres, so I no longer seek it."

Piccolo snorted, "Ha! You think I'm just going to trust you?"

"No, I don't," Marcus pulled out a knife, stabbed his hand with it, and then threw it into the ground between the two exhausted warriors.

"You're serious?"

Marcus nodded.

"Fine then, agreed," Piccolo took out a knife of his own, stabbed his right hand, and threw it so that it landed next to Marcus'. The two knives and their hands glowed briefly.

Suddenly, the ones named Deth and Blud moved, each pulling out a special gun and pointing it at Piccolo or Marcus.

"What is this?" Marcus demanded.

Deth sneered, "Oh come now, can not even you, the mighty leader of the Vampyres, know when there is a traitor among his ranks?"

Blud added, "Yes, two in fact, we are and not just foot grunts but your own personal body guards." The two removed their cloaks.

Piccolo looked at the two identical men,"Twins? You two, you're the Vearcans (one of the radical Vampyre factions that go against the current Vampyrian government) that Frank warned me about. Come here to make sure the Logomorphs and Vampyres enter another war I'll bet."

"Yes," Marcus said, the betrayal like poison in his mouth, but was even more foul were the words he spoke next, "Let me guess, if this fight did not end with war, your jobs are to assassinate us then make it look like it was a atrocity committed by the opposing government to the other."

"Ha ha, how very perceptive of you," Deth jeered.

"Perceptive yes, but little good will it do you, for you are left too weakened from your battle to dodge these bullets."

The twin rogues cocked their guns, and spoke in harmony, "let it be known that there will be no peace among the Vampyres and the Logomorphs."

Just as they were about to pull the trigger, a stranger came crashing down onto Deth's arm, forcing him to drop the gun, then the girl who looked no older than a teen pinned him against the wall.

The teeth of a werewolf bared she growled, "No, let it be known that there will be no peace between the rogues and those who they oppose."

Blud turned to shoot this girl, but Gohan intervened, easily disarming him and punching him hard enough to knock him out, "Hmph, not as strong as I was hoping," the Great Saiyaman spoke, "but what can I expect, from the mindless minions of darkness, when they're faced with impenetrable justice." He did one of his many posing routines, thinking to himself how cool that must have been. The Z warriors just sweat dropped.

"Why you," Deth cursed and made to attack the young stranger, but she dodged, however, relinquished her hold on him as well. "There cannot be peace!! I refuse to allow the mighty Vampyres to mingle with such filth as _werewolves_," he spat. "We will rule, you shall see, and you" he pointed at Gohan, "and all your friends will pay the price! The next time my brother and I set foot upon Earth, it will end with its destruction," he threatened ominously then with a flash, he and his brother were gone.

"Interesting day this has turned into," Marcus commented, "but, we are both wounded, and require recovery and explanations to our governments. Until we meet again," and with another flash he too was gone, along with the clouds he had summoned.

"Piccolo, are you alright?" Gohan asked, worried about the leg wound Piccolo sustained.

"I will, be" he limped over to the area where the other fighters watched while matches were being held and slumped down, "I used what little energy I had to heal the artery, and all I need to do now is wrap the wound. Besides that, I'm a little hungry, and could use a nap."

"Huh? But I though you didn't have to eat or sleep?"

"Something else that came with my transition to a werewolf, I find it necessary to do both to sustain myself."

"Here," the teenage girl handed Piccolo gauze she had materialized.

Piccolo accepted it and began wrapping his wounds, which, with the combined power of his superior Namekian healing and that of the werewolf gene, were already beginning to heal.

"By the way," he spoke as he worked, "This is Delenn. She's my werewolf "partner". You see, as with wolves, Logomorphs tend to form packs. Some of us though, are "lone wolves", we don't like packs. However, its very dangerous for werewolves to wander by themselves, since so many either fear or hate us. So, the government allows us to be lone wolves, but they assign us a partner that checks up on you occasionally to make sure you're alive and what not, and to accompany you those rare times you are assigned a mission."

"During the war, the Logomorphs government assembled what was known as the Elite Pack and consisted of the most powerful werewolf warriors. Frank, Luke, Jax, myself, my old partner Brayovack and Delenn were all apart of this pack. However, Brayovack was killed in battle, and Luke, Frank, and Jax are pack werewolves. Delenn here didn't have a partner, so we were paired together," Piccolo stopped as he struggled a little to wrap his ribs.

"That's neat," Gohan commented, he turned to Delenn, "So where do you live? Probably near by so you can keep an eye on Piccolo I imagine."

"…I am a nomad."

Piccolo snorted, "That is an understatement, she is almost constantly traveling."

"Really," Krillin spoke, "how come?"

Delenn looked weary of the others but answered, "There is never a reason for me to stay in one place."

"I take it your parents travel a lot," Gohan said, but Piccolo quickly made a hand motion to tell him not to pursue that topic.

"Delenn, as you can see I'm fine, though it appears I have another mark on me as do my friends, would you mind telling the "Grand" Chancellor what has happened here?" She shrugged then disappeared.

"Wow, not one for words is she?" Krillin joked.

"No, she does not trust people easily, and she will only talk if she trusts you. You see, she was changed at a very young age, eight I believe, and her home planet is so far on the outreaches of the universe that her energy was not picked up for a long time. But before she was found, she had been banished from all villages, cities, and towns because she was a "_shakaar_", a demon, they would torment her if they ever came across her, and, when her parents first found out what she was, they tried to kill her. Needless to say, she has had very limited contact with others, and wishes no more than that, so you'll hardly see her," Piccolo explained, finally finishing his first aid on himself. He stretched, "Well, the matches will soon resume, I presume, so I want to sleep and recharge before I miss anything important. Unfortunately for you Gohan, your opponent is gone so you'll have to wait a little longer, but I look forward to your next fight, and I certainly look forward to Goku and Vegeta's match so wake me when they start," the Namek more commanded than requested, then quickly fell into a deep slumber.

Gohan was thrown by the abruptness of the past few minutes, but he was starting to adjust when the announcer walked up to them and said that they were finally ready for the next match: Killa vs. Videl. This match did not last long, and was a breeze for Videl, who utterly crushed Killa (much to his embarrassment). Then the next match was up: Hercule vs. Number 18. A peculiar match this was, ending with the purposeful actions of 18 to lose.

Krillin was flabbergasted, "Why'd you do that?" He asked as his wife returned to where the others were.

"Well, unlike you I just earned us money. I told him I'd lose if he gave me twenty million zeni and he eagerly accepted my offer." The Z warriors laughed, Gohan thankful that Videl was in the bathroom so she didn't catch this scene (it would have been very hard for Gohan to worm his way out of that one had she been there).

"Hey Piccolo," Gohan nudged the sleeping warrior, who opened one eye, "My dad is fighting Vegeta now.

Piccolo smiled, "Now here will be a match worth watching," he got up, still shaking on his healing leg, but more stable then before.

Gohan smiled back, "Yeah, it's going to be intense."

In the ring, the two Saiyan rivals were also smiling, "It's too bad we promised not to go Super Saiyan eh Vegeta?"

"Hmph, I suppose, but in a way this is more ideal, because you won't be holding back to spare the crowd."

"True, besides, it'll make this more of a challenge," Goku grinned widely, unable to hide his excitement.

"Well, are we gong to talk or are we actually going to fight?" The impatient Prince jested, not expecting a verbal reply. Goku got in a fighting stance, and that was all the reply he needed from the light-hearted warrior. He too, fell into a stance and the two began their match.

_That's all for this chapter!! I know it's shorter, but next time you'll get to see Goku and Vegeta duke it out, and I wanna have fun with that. The next chapter will take longer for me to write because I'm back in school, and because I wanted to ask you, the readers, for your opinion, so I'll need to wait for reviews. Here is my question: should I turn Gohan or another one of the other Z warriors into a Vampyre? Or would I be murdered for such a plot twist? Please reply back or don't be offended if I make the decision on my own because you didn't give me your opinion! ____ Thank you very much, until the next chapter!!_

_Elieare_


	5. Chapter 4 Rivals and Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for any DBZ stuff or characters, most of the characters throughout this story are creations of Akira Toriyama**.

_Wow, it's been forever, I know I said it would be a while but I didn't meant THIS long. Sorry about that, I was buried under a heap of homework (you know, the type that makes you think "how am I going to use this later in life?" Like college level chemistry and pre-calculus, I mean seriously, I'm going to major in Criminal Justice and I want to become a detective in the Crimes Against Persons squad, why on earth do I need that level of chemistry or math?) and the extreme stress of the height of marching season so that if I wasn't in band practice I was staying up until two in the morning to do my homework, then I got uber sick (hm, didn't see that coming (sarcastically)) the day I had PSAT and it was just kjsnhuihfndijk _xx _. But, it's finally over so I decided to take advantage of it and write again before they load the homework on me. Okay, about the story, I didn't get many comments about my question but I got one person that said they would nearly murder me if I turned Gohan into a Vampyre and one request to maybe turn one of the other characters into a werewolf so I'm still mulling over it. Anyways, time for everyone's seemingly favorite Saiyan duo to fight!_

CHAPTER 4: RIVALS and PRELUDE

The two Saiyans clashed, exchanging a furious and quick multitude of blows. The crowd watched in utter amazement, they could only make out a punch or two and were mostly just listening to the intense fight before them while the others watched intently from the waiting area. Small shockwaves from the force of the two's attacks rippled through the air jolting unsuspecting spectators and jarring the ring.

"Wow," Gohan said as he watched, "and they're just warming up, I'm glad we limited them to normal fighting."

"Indeed," Piccolo agreed, "they would have already torn up the stadium had they gone Super Saiyan."

"_JUST_ WARMING UP!" Videl exclaimed, "But the sheer force, speed, and strength- they can't possibly not be serious yet! And what's this Super Saiyan thing?"

"Ah-uh," Gohan instantly became nervous, "Well-er, it's nothing really important it's just a… term we use, yeah, that's it, a term, nothing special really, just a _chi_ move. Most of us can do it," Gohan tried to sound as honest as possible.

Videl eyed him suspiciously, showing her skepticism, "Oh really, then how bout you show it to me."

"Wha- sh-show you? Well, the walls that surround us couldn't handle it, it's a fairly large burst of _chi_, I'll show it to you another time, you know, when we're in a more open space."

Videl still looked doubtful, but agreed, "Okay, but you have to promise me that you'll show me the Super Saiyan move."

"Uh, p-promise?" Gohan was not thrilled with this idea, he really did _not_ want the fact that he was also the Golden Warrior get out, not even to her.

"Yeah, you know, give me your honor-bound word you'll show me this move," Videl pressed relentlessly.

Piccolo sensed Gohan's distress, "Hey, it looks like they're going to get serious now," he said, giving the half-Saiyan a perfectly good excuse to draw his attention back to the match and avoid answering.

Goku and Vegeta starred at each other, both had the excited grin they get when they went up against a strong opponent. Silently the warriors charged, their _chi_ rose to its max at this normal mode, and when they clashed parts of the ring shattered and the sparks of _chi_ circled the area were they connected. Goku used his Instant Transmission move to place himself in the air almost out of sight for the spectators and beckoned the proud prince to follow. Vegeta sneered and charged, eager to engage his airborne opponent. The two attacked one another with all their might, yet still no clear victor could be foreseen. Vegeta unleashed a low powered Galic Gun Blast randomly, almost catching Goku off-guard, but the light-hearted warrior matched this blow accordingly with a small Kamehameha Blast. On the heel of this flash as the blasts clashed, the two charged recklessly continuing to struggle for dominance but never reaching it.

As the fight progressed, the two began moving around more and more until they found themselves back on the concrete of the ring. They once more started the exchange of blows, by this time about twenty minutes had passed, but their intensity seemed to be unaffected by the passage of time. Then, Goku clipped Vegeta under the chin. The blow was so fierce Vegeta felt himself careening out if control, however he used the momentum of this strike and countered, kneeing Goku under the chin. The two went flying in opposite directions, and, much to boths' horror, they hit the ground out-of-bounds simultaneously.

"Oh, it looks like this match ends in a draw," the announcer spoke, "and, unfortunately, since this is not the final match, both contestants are knocked out of the tournament, but what an amazing match! Give it up for these two warriors!" The crowd burst out with cheers and a standing ovation, but the two Saiyans didn't notice.

"Aw," Goku pouted, "it was just starting to get fun too!"

Vegeta grinned, "Oh, let's face it Kakarot, it's not like we could really fight with all these restrictions on us, only when we can fight freely will it truly be fun."

"Yeah, that's true…" Goku sulked, and then he suddenly perked up, "Hey I know! Since neither of us have to be here for any more matches, whaddya say I use my Instant Transmission to take us to a nearby uninhabited planet so we can fight all-out?"

"Hmm… an intriguing prospect, but how do we know that we'll still be able to breath on this uninhabited planet?" Vegeta pointed out.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that…" Goku sighed, crest-fallen.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Obviously."

"Wait, I know," Goku's excitement returned, "we can stop by King Kai's new place and ask him, he has every planet in the sector thoroughly catalogued, I'm sure he can find us one!"

"Hmm…" Vegeta pondered.

"Aw, c'mon, I know you want to settle this as much as I do, and what could go wrong?"

Vegeta glared, "When you're involved, plenty can. But… I am eager to show you my superiority so…sure, why not?"

"Whoo-hoo! Alright, just grab my shoulder," Vegeta did so and the two disappeared.

"Gee, he didn't even ask you if it was okay," Videl said to Gohan.

"Hm? Well why would he?"

"Well, I would've figured he would've liked to see his own son fight," she replied.

"Oh, well he gets caught in the moment, besides he knows my abilities and I know he has faith in me. So, you're dad watches you fight?" Gohan said calmly.

"Huh? Well…no…hmph. Guess I should've thought of that before I accused your father like that."

"Why? I'm sure that means he also has faith in you," Gohan said honestly.

"…I guess, but I doubt it."

Gohan was going to ask more but the announcer called the next contestants. Gohan couldn't help but smirk as Mighty Mask passed by and bumped into him, "_Ah, so Goten _did_ find a way to compete_." Needless to say, the match last only a couple of seconds, Trunks easily knocking out Jewel with a light jab to his chin. "Well, that wraps up the first round," the announcer said, "there will be a brief intermission as we prepare for the next rounds, and we'll return in thirty minutes with what I am sure will be a most excellent match between Krillin and Nail!"

Piccolo growled softly, "Another break? It's not like we need it."

"Hey, I've got no complaints," Krillin grinned, "at least I have thirty more minutes before you slaughter me."

"Aw, c'mon Krillin, it won't be that bad," Gohan said.

"You're right," Krillin said solemnly, and then smirked, "it'll be worse, I don't stand a chance."

"…You're stronger than you give yourself credit," Piccolo said, "I learned in our first match in the last World Tournament not to underestimate you."

Krillin blushed, "Heh, you think? Thanks, you're the last person I expected a compliment from though, you haven't gone soft on us have you," he joked.

"Hmph," Piccolo snorted and turned his face away from the others, frowning slightly. Suddenly Piccolo came to his feet eyes closed, "No way, it can't be…"

"What?" Gohan asked.

Then the Delenn and two other werewolves appeared in the midst of things.

Piccolo turned to them, "What's going on?"

"I told the Chancellor what happened," Delenn started, "but he already knew. The Vearcans announced that since the Logomorphs and Vampyres had made peace, they would declare war upon the Logomorphs. However, they also announced that they formed what they're calling the Supremacists Pact, which is the allegiance between them and the Wolfcarns (the radical werewolf group that believes all Vampyres should be exterminated) on the common grounds that they wish to overthrow our government and instill their own in its place."

"Grr… so that's why I'm sensing the mostly Vampyre force coming with a few werewolves huh?"

Delenn nodded.

"Wait, they're coming here?" Gohan interrupted, "Why?"

"The task force that is coming is large and powerful, my guess is it's an occupation force sent to take control of Earth and start recruiting humans. After all, the two forces need a large fighting force to take on our government, and they no doubt plan turn the sights on the Vampyres government next. Humans were once thought to not be able to handle wither mutation, but those test were done thousands of years ago, so a couple years back they tested them again. It was found humans are still not very compatible with the werewolf gene, but they are now extremely receptive to the Vampyre one. Most Vampyre-bitten humans have a ten-fold increase in strength, speed and stamina, but they also tend to lose control of their minds, but the Vampyrian government discovered a way to control them so they'll carry out any and every command given to them."

"How come we've never heard any of this before? Or noticed it?" Krillin questioned.

"Well, Vampyrian and Logomorphs scientists take small samples of blood from many different races and try to determine if their species can handle the Vampyre gene, and if it looks hopeful the discretely kidnap a handful of specimens for testing. They are very good at finding people who will not be notably missed or whose absence will not draw a large amount of attention, and they take only a couple of people from different parts of the world so we'd naturally never hear of it because they wouldn't seem connected."

"So," Gohan said, "they want to come here to create a powerful, mindless army of human Vampyres for their cause."

Piccolo nodded, "Yes, they're en route now, I'm sure you can sense them."

All the Z Warriors nodded. Gohan asked, "Are they coming by some sort of spacecraft?"

"Yep," the previously quiet Luke chipped, "Destroyer class, it's big, it's bulky, it's slow, and it packs one Hell-of-a punch. Easy to infiltrate, not so easy to destroy," he turned to Piccolo, "Grand Chancellor Greejar has reestablished the Elite pack and issued our first mission."

"Let me guess," Piccolo spoke, "Infiltrate the incoming ship to prevent Earth from being captured."

"You got it, as well as capture the two Elite Vearcan Guard members that are stowed upon the ship, their energy is naturally blocked from any type of sensors so we have to do it the old fashioned way, and we have to take them alive," Luke finished.

"Joy," Piccolo said disdainfully, "Well, should we get going?"

Luke smiled, "We're ready when you are Chief."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow (um, okay he doesn't really _have_ an eyebrow, but you get the point) portraying his question.

Frank's booming baritone voice was the one to respond, "Greejar also decreed that you are now the Alpha of the Elite Pack.

Piccolo scowled, "If this was any other time I'd tell "Grand" Chancellor Greejar to shove his orders up his-"

"But this isn't any other time," Jax pointed out.

Piccolo sighed, "Fine, as long as he doesn't try to order me around once we've disbanded again. Okay, we've got a lot of ground to cover and I want to take the least amount of time and risk, so we'll break up. Jax, you have the greatest technical skills out of the group so your job will be to sneak into the main engineering room and take command of the ship, summon Darian and brief him on the situation so he can take care of any security measures in place and protect you as you get the job done."

"Right, I'll call for him once you've finished issuing orders."

"Good, Luke and Frank, you are the muscle for this so I'll need you to fight your way to the bridge and take it by force. Once there, connect with Jax and start sealing parts of the ship off so we don't have to fight the entire regiment, they far outnumber us and are highly trained so they can easily overthrow us if we're not careful. Then you and Jax set a course towards the nearest Logomorphs Military Impound Station. Delenn and I will take on the arduous task of locating and capturing the two Elite Vearcan Guards, once we have them, I'll signal you and transport directly to The High Force Maximum Lock-up. Jax, you'll temporarily be in charge while we're dropping them off, make sure everything stays together. Now, in order for this plan to work, we all have to fulfill our parts with great speed and accuracy, and even then, success is not an extremely likely outcome. However, it's the best we can do with under the circumstances and it's why the Elite Pack was formed in the first place, so do what you have to and do your best to get out alive. Alright, any questions?"

"Yeah," Gohan said, "What can we do?"

"What? No, it's too dangerous-"Piccolo started.

"Dangerous? As if we've never been in that position before," Krillin joked, "C'mon, you said so yourself that I'm not one to underestimate, this is my home, and I'm gonna help protect it."

Gohan nodded, "Right, not to mention it sounds like you need all the help you can get."

Piccolo was hesitant to answer.

"C'mon Chief, we could use the extra manpower, after all thus situation is very similar to our last mission and we barely skirted out of that one with our lives, in fact, if Brayovack hadn't done what he did, all of us would have died, not just him. And even then, we were all in intensive care for a good week or two. With their help our success rate dramatically increases, heck we may even get out of it with only a few major injuries and a couple minor ones," Luke said.

"Besides," Delenn spoke quietly, "You're already injured fairly severely, so a third member to our part of the plan is greatly advised or failure is almost definite."

"Not to mention, Vegeta and I would be very disappointed if you left us out of your battle plans," Goku spoke, he and Vegeta stood, both in battle-torn clothes but with not a scratch on them.

"Dad! How'd you hear?"

"Hm? Oh, King Kai interrupted our fight and told us what was going on so we had Dende heal us then came back here."

"All right, Piccolo, you're outnumbered," Gohan said, "so what do you want us to do?"

" sigh Fine, but what ever happens, do not, I repeat, do not let any of them bite you, or even come close to it." They all nodded.

"Okay then, Goku, Vegeta, you'll accompany Luke and Frank in their efforts to take over the bridge, once that's accomplished I want both of you stand guard at the single entrance/exit and prevent anyone that's not a part of our group from going in. Eighteen are you going, too?"

"Well if Krillin is going I don't really have a choice."

"Then you and Krillin will go with Jax and Darian, take over engineering, and protect Jax."

"Which means I'll go with you and Delenn to capture those Elite guards, right?" Gohan interrupted. Piccolo nodded.

"Hey, what about me?" Videl protested.

"Er, well, listen Videl, you barely learned about _chi_ and all, and this is really dangerous, so I think you should stay here. Hey, maybe you can postpone the tournament so we can come back and compete!"

"Gohan…arg, fine, I'll stay here, but tell me this: you're the Golden Warrior aren't you?"

"Huh? Well… yeah…"

"So it was you at the Cell Games, you were that kid right?"

"…Y-Yeah."

"…It was you who defeated Cell too wasn't it?"

Gohan blushed, "Well… yeah."

Videl smiled, "I thought so, it just seemed odd to me, I mean my dad's strong, but- well, good luck, and you better come back."

"Of course," Gohan said, and he removed the bandana and sunglasses, "Alright then, let's get going!"

"Good," Piccolo said, "Everyone going come closer in." They did so, "Alright, we're going to use what's known as Lunar Light Transportation, just hold still, close your eyes and we'll be there in seconds."

"I could just use my Instant Transmission," Goku suggested.

"No, you use _chi_ as your point of reference, which means we'll transport right into a horde of Vampyres and I don't want them to know how many of us there are right off the bat. They can't detect LLT (Lunar Light Transportation) yet so I'll send us somewhere where our presence is hidden and there's no one around, we'll leave from there. So, everyone close their eyes."

They did so, with a blinding white flash and an odd sensation, the World Tournament disappeared, and the walls of a darkened cargo room replaced them.

"You all know what to do," Piccolo whispered, "Bridge Group, leave from the door and draw as much attention as possible. Engineering Room Group, leave from the tunnels, they should lead you right into your destination, I'm sure there's an access point in here. Capturing group stay with me, we'll lag behind and leave once the Bridge Group is occupying the ship's attentions. Now go."

The plan was set into motion, each team embarking on its task. Once the Bridge Team left, it didn't take long for the alarm to go off and the troops began scrambling to their stations and to intercept the intruders. Piccolo waited for the commotion outside to die down then signaled Delenn and Gohan that it was time to head out. They silently rushed through the halls, keeping out of sight though no one appeared to be around.

"_Gohan, can you hear me_?" Piccolo spoke into the half-Saiyans mind.

"_Yeah._"

"_Good, I've established this mental link and I'll keep it open, from now on we only communicate telepathically, only in a fight can you break the silence. We stay out of sight as much as possible. Our targets are most likely in the deepest part of the ship, so we wouldn't make it if we engaged every troop we came upon. Once we get into a certain part of the ship, we will no longer be able to sense chi, not even our own, so be very cautious, an ambush could be anywhere and we cannot judge how strong our opponents are, however they have the same handicap, so don't be afraid to use it. We should be able to avoid troops until we get to that point, got all this?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_Good, now just follow Delenn and I_."

The group sped through the halls, never avoiding all contact with the troops. They came upon a door and stopped. Piccolo nodded at Delenn. She removed the access panel and revealed a tunnel like the ones the Engineering Room used. The three crawled into the then stopped at the next access panel.

"_Okay, we'll exit here, be on guard_."

"_Why don't we just stay in here_?" Gohan asked.

"_The tubes are booby-trapped, and the only way to locate our targets is to see them, we can't do that from in here._"

Gohan saw Delenn's and Piccolo's eyes turn that glowing white like when Piccolo had fought Marcus. Then they silently opened the access panel stepped out.

"_Whoa, it's so dark, I can hardly see anything_," Gohan said telepathically.

"_That's how Vampyres like it. Okay we're going to take to the ceiling_."

"_Take to the ceiling_?" Gohan asked

"_Yes, Vampyres like to hang from the ceiling and ambush any unlucky enemy or prey that passes under them_," Piccolo answered.

"_Okay, but how are we going to take to the ceiling_?"

"_Oh, you know how you use your chi to push off the ground to fly_?"

"_Yeah_."

"_Well just do the opposite of that, send chi into your hands and feet and reverse it from the way it's used to fly and they should act like suction cups_."

"_O-okay, I'll try_."

Piccolo and Delenn jumped up and stuck to the ceiling. Gohan psyched himself up, jumped, and did what Piccolo told him. Much to his surprise, he stuck.

"_Good, now we're going to go real slow as to not make an excess of noise and movement that can be detected, Vampyres and werewolves see very well in the dark after all_."

"_Gee, wish I could see in the dark well_."

Piccolo did not answer; they just started moving.

Suddenly, below them a werewolf started howling, his form of an alarm.

"Delenn!" Piccolo ordered.

"Right," she twirled from the ceiling, caught the back of the werewolf's head with her knee, and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out. A Vampyre hissed and jumped her from behind, but Piccolo sprang from the ceiling and with both feet on the Vampyres chest, he slammed him to the ground, too, bones crunched. Then he did a front flip of and faced his opponent who sprang to his feet. Gohan caught the outline of another Vampyre and werewolf heading towards Piccolo and Delenn. Gohan took on the werewolf, leaving the other Vampyre to Delenn. He grabbed the werewolf's head with his legs and flung him to the wall. It was farther away than he thought, but he heard the thing hit it and slump to the floor, then it didn't stir. He turned and saw the outline of his two companions knocking out their opponents.

Piccolo looked at him, "You okay?

"Yep," Gohan smiled.

"Good, okay we'll go back on the- GOHAN LOOK OUT!!" Piccolo yelled.

The werewolf Gohan thought he knocked out was in mid pounce; he aimed to bite Gohan. Gohan moved and…

_I love cliffhangers, sorry if you hate them (insert evil smiley). Anyways, I again apologize for the long wait between chapters, but I hope I made up for it with this nice loooooong chapter. Well, next chapter should be interesting, there's a lot of questions to be answered and a lot of action to be had. Will Gohan have enough time to dodge, or will he too find himself bitten? Will the other groups be successful in their endeavors? Will everyone make it out alive? Just who are these Elite Vearcan Guards? Will the team fail and Earth fall into the clutches of the Supremacists Pact? Who knows, to be honest, not even I do at this point, for one of the greatest things about fanfics is that the possibilities are infinite!!_

_Elieare _


	6. Chapter 5 Missions

Disclaimer: Must I state the obvious? I do not own any rights to DBZ, although if I did I wouldn't be complaining, but I don't so there.

_Ah, sweet vacation, and this time I actually get to take my break and I don't have to bake out in the hot sun four hours every day for band practice. Although my license expired, and that's not cool. Especially since when I went to the DMV, this lady was being extremely rude even though I was being very polite (I was hoping she'd renew my license so no need to piss her off) but she said I had to have a V.O.E. (Verification of Enrollment) in order to prove I was in school because I'm under 18. No one ever told me that. Then before I left I asked why I hadn't I got a notice my license was going to expire in the mail like everyone else does and she replied in a really snotty tone that I won't get one because I'm under eighteen and I should just know that I have to renew it every year. Um, right, I was told I was good until I was 18, and I couldn't help but think Texas must really not like their teen drivers to be legal if they're setting them up like that, I almost said that to, it's not like I was gonna get my license from her anyways. I was good though and I tried to get A V.O.E. but my school doesn't hand them out on break. _--_. Yeah, I'm done ranting now, thank you if you actually read this, but if you don't it's all good cuz I still got it off my chest. So onwards!_

CHAPTER 5: MISSIONS 

Krillin grunted as he crawled through the tight tubes that would lead them to the Engine Room. He wondered how the others must feel if even he was feeling cramped in such a confining space. There was a low hum that was growing strength as they got closer to their destination, and their was a faint pulse of vibrations running through the paneling that was also increasing to the point were he could feel his whole body shaking. "_Gee, I wonder if this is caused by the engine_?" He thought. Then suddenly, the werewolf in front of him, Darian, stopped.

"What's wrong," Krillin whispered his question and hoped it was drowned out by the obnoxious droning the hum had become.

"There's a trap here, I'm disarming it," the werewolf grunted back.

Krillin saw sparks come from the compartments Darian had opened and was fiddling with. They pierced through the darkness and left an impression much like when one stares directly at the sun gets. The, the darkness returned and they moved a couple feet forward and stopped at an access panel.

"Alright, here we are," Darian spoke, "there's no doubt an alarm on this panel so our surprise is limited but there. You guys ready?"

"_No_," Krillin thought, but nodded his head in confirmation.

"As long as it gets me out of this I'm ready for anything," his wife replied tersely behind him, he couldn't help but smile at her fierceness.

"Go for it," Jax said from the caboose.

Darian blasted the panel away and in seconds Krillin found himself in the middle of the fray, fighting anyone who charged at him.

** :: **

Vegeta panted from the exertion and sustaining the ascended Super Saiyan State at such a high level for so long. He glanced quickly at Kakarot and smirked when he saw that the dead Saiyan was also out of breath but enjoying himself none-the-less. Their two werewolf companions were also panting hard but pushing onward regardless.

"We're almost there," Frank said between breaths.

They group turned the corner and almost ran right into a storm of dark _chi_ bullets sprayed throughout the hall by a Vampyre firing squad. They ducked back in the hall they came from.

Luke cursed under his breath, "They're right in front of the bridge room door, how are we supposed to get through that?"

"I don't know, I caught a glimpse of another firing squad facing the other direction, too," Frank replied.

"I know what to do," Kakarot suggested, "I'll use my Instant Transmission Technique to put Vegeta and I in between them as you guys distract them and we'll knock them out."

"I'm not sure what technique you mentioned but it's all we got, go for it," Luke said.

Vegeta scowled, he didn't enjoy Kakarot volunteering him, but he got to hit someone for his troubles so he allowed it. He made the most disgusted face he could as Kakarot put his hand on his shoulder. "_Thankfully the Instant Transmission really is instant_," Vegeta thought knowing he would have taken his wrath out on the dolt if he had to wait. The backs of the firing squad appeared before him and without hesitation, he blasted them all away.

"Vegeta! You didn't have to do _that_!" Kakarot exclaimed.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "I believe we've been over this before Kakarot, when we faced one Ginyu Squad on Namek," irritated, the prince of Saiyans was not in the mood to explain his actions, not that he ever was.

"That still doesn't mean-" Kakarot continued to pester the shorter man either oblivious to his rage or ignoring it.

"Good job," Luke interrupted and headed onto the bridge.

Vegeta sneered to Kakarot, "Well at least someone thinks so," but he was ignored, which helped his irritation none except to increase it.

Frank stopped in the middle of the door, "You two stand guard out here okay?"

"Whatever," Vegeta scoffed, and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed. "What is it about Kakarot that just gets under my skin," he thought to himself.

** :: **

The werewolf Gohan thought he knocked out was in mid pounce; he aimed to bite Gohan. Gohan moved and almost dodged it, just almost. Pain shot through him as the werewolf's teeth sunk deep into part of his shoulder and arm. He heard Piccolo yell something but it was unintelligible to him. A burning heat accompanied with delirium struck him. The world blurred, smeared patches of darkness and his surroundings flickered before him. His legs gave out on him and he collapsed. All he could hear was his ears ringing and the pounding of his heart, he felt like he was burning inside out. Then his body suddenly went numb and he slipped easily into unconsciousness.

** :: **

The Engine room had easily been taken and Jax was furiously hacking into the ship's computer system as Number 18 stood outside one of two of the doors leading to engineering. Darian was guarding the other and Krillin got the grueling task of going back into the tubes they entered from and keeping that entrance secure. So far, only one Vampyre had tried to break in. "How boring," she thought, "at least I'm not crammed into those dammed tunnels." Her thoughts wandered to Krillin. Had she been someone like Goku, the picture in her head of Krillin crammed into the tunnel, cursing under his breath and jumping at everything he heard besides the engine would have made her burst into laughter. She was not Goku though, and this thought only enticed a rare smirk to form.

An explosion shook the area and the blast tore through the wall, showing that it's origin was the tunnel. "_Oh no_," she thought, and before she could catch herself she yelled, "KRILLIN!" Out of the corner of her eye she saw a Vampyre charging at her, she didn't have time to dodge…

** :: **

Goku steamed by the door and next to Vegeta, still mad at how Vegeta killed all of those Vampyres. "_Enemies or not," he thought, "that was overkill_." He heard pounding on the door in coming from the room he'd locked the Vampyres he'd knocked out into. Besides that, everything was quiet. Frank had come out and added the bridge members to their makeshift brig, but besides that everything was still. Too still. "_I expected there to be more fighting than this once we got here but-_" his thoughts were proven immature as Vampyres and werewolves suddenly fell from the ceiling and began attacking. Goku powered up and engaged them. He couldn't help but have the most random thought pop into his head, "_Vampyres and werewolves are fun to fight… I wonder what Chi-Chi will make for dinner_?" The Earth-raised Saiyan was just starting to have fun when Piccolo contacted him telepathically.

"_Goku can you hear me_?"

"_Yeah_," he replied while dodging the long raking claws of a Vampyre and a fierce kick from a werewolf.

"_I need you to use your Instant Transmission to get over here quick_."

Goku grabbed the werewolf's leg and threw him into the Vampyre, "_What happened_?"

"_Gohan was bitten and he's not reacting well, he needs to get to a special medical base or he won't survive_."

"_WHAT_!?" Goku reflected an energy blast and knocked the attacker out cold with a kick, "_Fine I'll be right there… hey I can't sense your_ chi!"

"_Hold on, I was in the middle of projecting mine for you to use as a beacon_."

"_Why would I need bacon_?"

"_Beacon, not bacon you idiot_!"

"_What's the difference_," Goku was almost so absorbed in this mental conversation he forgot he was fighting and narrowly missed the brunt of a lashing werewolf, four thin scratches were added on top of cuts he had gotten earlier as the thing nicked him.

"_Argh, you are impossible Son Goku, just lock onto my signal and get Gohan to safety_."

"_Oh, you're done? Yeah I can sense your_ chi _now… 'kay I'm coming over_," he closed his link with Piccolo and shouted to Vegeta, "Gotta go, good luck holding the fort," and left before Vegeta could answer.

The first thing that came to his head Goku spoke, "It's dark."

"No shi- ugh, never mind," a thoroughly annoyed Piccolo greeted him, "Here," he heaved Gohan gingerly onto his father's shoulders. "Okay I'm sending you the energy signal you need to get to, ready?"

Goku kept looking around.

"What _are_ you looking for?"

"The bacon."

"The ba-" Piccolo took in a deep breath to contain his anger and return to his usual nonchalance, "There is no bacon, now do you know where to take Gohan or not?"

"Hm? But you said you were making bacon," Goku said, honestly confused.

"For Kami's sake!" Piccolo cried exasperated and unable to hold his usual demeanor, "Just get Gohan help all ready will you!"

"Okay, okay, but you owe me bacon."

"Fine, whatever, no go."

Goku used his Instant Transmission and found himself in the inside o a very white building bustling with activity.

A man who looked like a doctor cam up to Goku, "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Piccolo sent me here 'cuz my son was bitten," Goku replied.

"Piccolo sent you?" The doctor looked at Gohan, "Hmm, of what race is your son?"

"Half-human, half-Saiyan."

"What? Hm, here, he needs to be in ICU right away," the doctor grabbed a gurney and wheeled Gohan away.

"Oh, I better go back and help Vegeta, it's not like I can do anything for Gohan now." He was gone in the blink of an eye.

** :: **

Vegeta surveyed the area, panting heavily, his hand on a deep gash that cut across his side and stomach. There was no movement. He let go of the Super Saiyan state and yelled, "Curse that Kakarot, taking off like that!" Suddenly Luke came out of the bridge.

"You don't have to worry anymore, we hooked up with engineering and have erected force fields to keep the rest of the troops from moving around.

"I wasn't worried," Vegeta relied as casually as possible.

"Where'd the other Saiyan go?"

"Who knows?"

Goku popped back, "Aw, I was hoping I'd get back before the fighting stopped."

"And where did you go off to?" Vegeta asked.

"Hm? Oh, I had to take Gohan to this special hospital 'cuz he was bitten."

"What?" Luke exclaimed, "by a werewolf or Vampyre?"

"Umm… I'm not sure, I didn't ask."

"_Idiot_," Vegeta thought, "_and to think he managed to outwit Frieza_…"

"Luke! Get back here! There was an explosion in engineering, I lost Jax!"

Goku and Luke rushed into the bridge, Vegeta, interested but not wanting to show it, followed at an easy-going pace.

** :: **

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a Vampyre charging at her, Eighteen didn't have time to dodge though. Suddenly Krillin, rammed into the Vampyre head first knocking the wind out of it and into the wall, part of the interior crumbled down upon the attacker and buried him. Krillin tried to hide the burns on his arms and part of his chest from his wife, unsure if he was successful or not. Thankfully, Jax came out of engineering, holding a burnt body that had been Darian.

"Is he?" Krillin asked.

Jax nodded solemnly, Krillin gasped as he saw that the left half of his face, chest, and arm were charred.

"The engine's been sabotaged, the ship is gonna blow in less than three minutes."

"Sabotaged? How, before the explosion that forced me out of the tunnel there wasn't a sign of anyone!"

"They used the ventilation system. I won't get into the technical jargon, but all the ship's functions are connected to the core, including life support. They flooded the core with oxygen molecules, which reacts in a very explosive manner with the core's chemical make up, the process is slow at first, which is what's happening now, but once it picks up…" the area shook and debris threatened to bury him, "Come on we'd better get to the bridge."

Krillin felt disconnected with reality as Jax used LIT to take them to the bridge.

** :: **

The whole ship shook and almost broke Piccolo and Delenn's hold on the ceiling, an almost ear-splitting alarm sounded off.

"_That can't be good_," Piccolo transmitted.

"_Definitely not, we'd better hurry_."

"_Right, we should try entering their little hideout room from the-_" Piccolo stopped as the door to the room they wanted to infiltrate opened and their targets began storming out.

"_When improvise is called for_," Delenn started.

"_Right, jump 'em_."

The two werewolves crashed down upon their unsuspecting opponents, easily binding them with ties of moonlight energy.

"Well, you two made this easier on us, thanks," Piccolo jested. His prisoner suddenly spun around and bit Piccolo, injecting something into his bloodstream with his fangs. Piccolo instinctively placed a finger on the man's temple and sent a small amount of energy into his brain, just enough to knock him unconscious for a good couple of hours.

Piccolo's head began pounding.

"Piccolo, you okay?'

"No, I think he injected a neuro-disrupter into my…" the world blanked out.

_Ta-da! There you go, now you get to wait a couple days and find out if the team escapes in time and if Gohan survives his transition into a werewolf. And what will happen to Piccolo? Well, be patient and I shall eventually tell you! This chapter was pretty complicated with all the jumping from character to character so if you have any questions send me a review and incorporate your question within you constructive criticisms and comments please (in other words, I like review, send on to me please). Until next chapter,_

_Elieare_


	7. Chapter 6 Recovery

Disclaimer: The only things I own that are related to this story are the computer I typed this on, my own characters like Delenn, my settings such as the Logomorphs Alpha Chamber of the Higher Pack, and the chocolate that I'm allergic to but eating anyways, if something in here doesn't fall under those categories I obviously don't own it.

_For once I don't have much to say, except that boys need to come with a how to date me and win my heart manual. So, I'll just get to the story. _

Chapter 6: Recovery and Chaos 

_Pain, darkness._

_Mind clouded, unfocused, what's happening?_

_Disconnected, disoriented, where am I? _

_What is this feeling?_

_I'm trapped, I must, break free, yes, escape this place, this deathly silence._

_Can't escape… no, can't escape…_

_I must! I must break free!!_

Piccolo opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of the Logomorphs hospital he had always gone to when injured. "_Good_," he thought, "_that means the team made it out in time_." He propped himself up, but had to lay down again as searing pain in his head threatened to knock him out again. He closed his eyes until the pain subsided. "_Ugh, that damned Vampyre did a real number on me_…_ I wonder how Gohan is doing? I'm worried about the fact that he's half-human, humans do not take on the werewolf gene very well, argh, I wish I never let him come." _Normally the man was always telepathically linked with the boy in some small extent, but with his mind the way it was even that had been severed. He tried to sit up again, this time he slowly inclined, his head hurt, but the world did not start fading to black and his ears did not start ringing so he figured he was in good shape. He looked around, there was no one else in the room, all he could here was the constant bustling and noise from outside the busy hospital, no doubt tripled since the start of the war.

Piccolo sighed, he did not like being bedridden, but he wasn't sure he could stand up, and with his luck he would fall on his face just as someone walked into the room. His dislike of being bedridden won. He turned of the machine reading his vital signs and removed the IV and the sticky monitoring devices that had been stuck to his head and chest. Then he slowly placed his feet on the ground and stood. He was struck by dizziness, but it passed. However, when he went to take a step forward, pain like a knife shot through his head, and the room spun violently, causing him to fall over, and just as he predicted, someone walked in.

"Piccolo!" He heard Goku's voice as the easy-go-lucky Saiyan rushed over to him.

Piccolo waved his hand at him to keep him from helping him out, "I'm fine," he hissed and forced himself to stand, a little to quickly though, and he almost collapsed again but Goku caught him.

"You really shouldn't be out of bed," Goku chided.

"Oh, since when have you been a doctor?" Piccolo growled and pushed himself roughly off the smaller man's shoulder, "I'm fine okay?"

He went to take another step forward and had to grab the customary visitor's chair to steady himself.

Goku laughed, "Sure Pic' whatever you say."

Piccolo glared at him for the botching of his name and laughter at him, but the gentle Saiyan didn't notice.

"How long have I been out?" Piccolo asked.

"Um," Goku scratched his head, "a week, I think."

"A week?!" Piccolo couldn't help but exclaim, taken by surprise by this figure, he had expected something more like a couple hours or a day, but a _week_? Then again, this _was_ Goku he was talking to, certainly not the smartest person he'd ever come across…

"Wait a minute," Piccolo said, "You only had a day in the living realm, so why are you here if it's been as week?"

Goku grinned, "Well, it took a lot of doing, but I convinced King Enma (Yema I think is what it is in the anime) to let me day until Gohan's okay."

"How is-" Piccolo started.

The doctor suddenly walked in, "What the? Piccolo, what are you doing out of bed, and who unhooked you?" Then he put his hand up to show Piccolo not to answer that question, "Let me guess, you unhooked yourself and you couldn't stand just laying there."

Piccolo shrugged.

The doctor rolled his eyes, "Always were a stickler when it came to following the recommended recovery plan. You got lucky this time though, that neuro-poison your target injected into you would have easily killed any other werewolf I know, but that insane Namekian brain and regeneration of yours managed to pull you through, although I'm sure you still feel like Hell, not that you'll admit it."

"How's Gohan?" Piccolo interrupted.

"Good, he pulled through the critical part, he'll probably still be out of it for another day but he's fine."

Inwardly, Piccolo gave a huge sigh of relief, "Have a really been out for a week?"

The doctor nodded.

Piccolo shook his head in disbelief, "That really was some neuro-poison."

He cautiously let go off his support and started walking, the last thing he wanted to do was fall over in front of the doctor, there would be no way to get out of going back to being bedridden if that happened. To his delight, he was fairly well oriented and had adapted to the pain now, so he managed to only stagger a little.

"Where are you going?" The doctor questioned, giving Piccolo the "you're such a difficult patient" look.

"To check on the rest of the team and Gohan," Piccolo replied returning the look with one of his own that screamed, "well what are you going to do about it?""

Goku glanced at the doctor, then Piccolo, shrugged and followed the Namek out of the room, the doctor sighing and following the two.

Piccolo didn't have to walk far to find the rest of the group; they were waiting outside his door, and, after reading the sign of his neighbor's door, Gohan's room too.

"Piccolo! You're okay!" Exclaimed Jax.

"Well, I've been better, but for the most part I'm good," he scanned the group, "Where's Darian?"

Jax looked away, "There was an explosion in engineering, he took the brunt of the blast for me and… he didn't make it," everyone went quiet.

Jax looked down at his injuries from the blast, his werewolf regeneration abilities made it so that they were almost completely healed, but every time he looked it he thought of Darian's charred body…

"Well," Piccolo broke the silence, though his voice was still quiet, "he was a courageous warrior, and he died fittingly."

The werewolves nodded, they all knew that was the standard blessing to fallen pack-members only to be uttered by the Alpha, in ancient times, it was believed it was only after these words were spoken that the warrior could find peace, an although that was no longer believed by most, it was still a custom that held strong.

Piccolo turned his attention to Gohan's room, "Is he awake?"

"No," Krillin said, "Not now, he was a little earlier but he was still pretty out of it, he didn't really make sense either… but the doctor said he'll recover and survive."

Piccolo nodded," Yes, but as one of us," he said and looked at the other werewolves.

"Hey Pic' I've been thinking…" Goku started.

Piccolo snorted, "And that is like the coming of the Apocalypse, and don't call me Pic''"

Goku just grinned, "Anyways, I was thinking, are you like a Vampyre/werewolf now?"

"What? Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Well, you were injured by a Vampyre bite weren't you?" Goku pointed out.

"Oh, that, the werewolf gene and the Vampyre gene do not mix, once you're infected with one it fights off the other if you're ever exposed to it."

"Oh," Goku didn't really look like he understood but he was distracted the next second when a nurse with a food cart passed by.

When no more questions were asked, Piccolo got in his normal meditation positioned and began drawing into himself; it was extremely difficult to do with the backlashes of the nuero-poison, but he finally got it.

Then another werewolf appeared, he looked at most thirteen years old, and was running through the halls toward the group, almost ramming right into one of the patients. Piccolo had a feeling he would not like the news this messenger would bring. The teen stood before them, panting hard, "Are the- the members of the Elite Pack among you?"

"Yes," Piccolo answered, "what news have you for us boy?"

"My message can only be delivered in private to the members of the Elite Pack, as ordered by Senator Deskur."

"Deskur?" Jax spoke up, "you mean the lowest ranking member of the Higher Pack?'

"Indeed," the boy nodded once.

"We can use that room," Piccolo pointed to the one he had been lying unconscious in only a hand-full of minutes before," it is empty."

"It should suffice," the messenger agreed.

Piccolo, Jax, Luke and Frank stood and walked into the room, the messenger behind them.

"Now, let's try this again: what news have you for us?" Piccolo said.

"It is my regretful duty to inform you that Grand Chancellor Greejar and his Second have been assassinated, along with many of the Senators that form our mighty government."

"WHAT?!" All present in the room with the exception of Piccolo and the messenger.

"How?" Piccolo asked.

"I'm not sure of the details, but it seems to have been a large conspiracy by rogue werewolf insurgents among the Senators."

Frank scowled, "What age is this that we live in when we cannot even trust our own kind?"

A moment of silence followed his statement, then the messenger cleared his throat and added, "There's more, the Senator sends his sincerest apologies, and he understands that your team is still recovering from your last mission, but he needs you to report to Alpha Chamber of the Higher Pack to receive your next mission."

"_Great, this is getting more and more chaotic_," Piccolo thought, and spoke, "Okay, let's head out then…"

_There you go, there's your update (grins) I didn't leave it as a cliffhanger this time, aren't you happy? To the American readers: HAPPY THANKSGIVNG!! Anyways, please send me reviews! Oh, and if you the time, I humbly ask you to read and review my newest fan fiction, Perseverance, it only has the intro and one chapter, so it shouldn't take you too long, please?_

_Elieare_


	8. Chapter 7 Chaos in the Hall of Werewolve

Disclaimer: How on Earth could I own DBZ? I was still like, nine when it came out where I live, so unless I have a double life I don't know about I do not own any DBZ or DBZ related things except the Piccolo action figures I bought from Walgreens.

_WHOOOOOOT!!! It is a miracle! It's snowing! For those of you who don't know, I live in a desert, so it is like the apocalypse for it to snow at all, but to do so in November? Not to mention that we've gotten about four inches and it's still snowing! It's unheard of, and awesome. I took my dog to the park and we ran around and dove into the snow and my dad and I made a snowman and I pretty much reverted back to being a little kid. grin anyways, to the story!_

Chapter 7: Chaos in the Hall of Werewolves 

Piccolo's body was sluggish, well, more accurately; his mind was sluggish, sending the signals through his nerves much slower than normal. "_Jax_," he reached out with his mind, cringing slightly as the effort sent a stab of pain through his brain. "_What's up_?" "_I'm not up to par yet, when we carry out our mission I need you to be in command._" "_That bad_?" "_I'm not some weakling to fawn over_," Piccolo snapped, "_but I dare not put the pack in jeopardy._" Jax smiled, "_Understood_." What Piccolo had said had been true, it was a quality he gained from his time of being a werewolf, especially after belonging and leading a pack; it had changed him.

The arrival at the doors leading to the Alpha Chamber's main hall ended Piccolo's thoughts.

They were ambushed. Five werewolves, all senators, bore down upon them. These senators fought viciously, and all were transformed, but they were easily incapacitated. Piccolo personally knocked one of the insurgent senators around, breaking his legs and slamming the thing to the marbled floor. He pounced the senator, who was no longer transformed, and taunted, "Never send a politician to do a warrior's job," then punched the man square on his chin, instantly knocking him out. Piccolo stood and saw he was the last one done, "Well, no that we've greeted the welcoming party, what do you say we see what "almighty" Senator Deskur has summoned us for," he kept his face expressionless, but his distaste for the situation showed with sarcasm. The pack chuckled. Luke added, "Yes, we must find out what is so important he'd sink so low as to request _our_ presence." They laughed a little harder, but there was bitterness behind it caused by the irony of things. The senators had dubbed them the Elite Pack, glorifying them in the eyes of the public, but where the public had no eyes they treated them like filth. Except for Chancellor Greejar, he wasn't sympathetic for them though, but as stupid and weak as he was, he at least understood that he was not the best of them, and his title never made him think he was of a "higher breed" as the others in this hall did. Now that he was dead… Piccolo was not looking forward to this. "Alright let's go in and get this over with," he growled unintentionally. They nodded.

Frank opened the soundproof door, a wonder to them all _why_ the senators needed a soundproof door- until they opened it. An instant tumultuous tide of shouting poured from the hall. No one even noticed the Elite Pack enter, the twenty-two, normally fifty, senators were all on their feet, shouting in each other' faces, making obscene gestures an cluster together in a mass of chaos. It was amazing that none of them were engaged in a fistfight. The elite Pack held back, not wanting to get involved with the political… whatever you want to call what they were doing.

Piccolo tried to hear the various arguments among the senators but succeeded only in worsening his headache. He closed his eyes and focused harder, but there were just too many voices to make out any of it. Finally, losing his patience, Piccolo walked closer to the group and tried to get their attention. It wasn't working. He noticed an odd, golden cane-like thing nearby, grabbed it, and drove it into the ground. To his surprise and everyone else's, besides the senators', a loud, annoying ringing noise issued from the two hitting each other. Piccolo looked with awe at the cane, "_What the hell_?" One of the senators shouted at him, "How dare you use the Silencing Stick, only fellow senators and the higher councilmen are allowed to use that!" Piccolo turned a full-blown glare upon the irate senator, "How dare I? You are the fools who sent for my pack and ignore us as we graciously answer your summons, so do not lecture me on what I am and am not allowed to do," he kept the cane, just in case chaos ensued again.

Thankfully, it didn't, the whole cluster of them just gave Piccolo a cold, hard stare, he returned the look, breaking the silence, "What do you want with us?" "Well," it was Deskur, "We want to offer you-" "Since when do you speak for us Deskur?" A vicious roar came from another one, Lunaro, was his name. A few others started shouting and in the next moment, they were exactly how Piccolo had found them. Piccolo put two fingers to his pounding temple, then plugged one of his ears with them and slammed the silencing stick back into the ground. In the quiet that followed, Piccolo snarled, "Damn you, what the hell do you want with us! Tell us now, for we will not just idly stand here and wait for your moronic bickering to come to a conclusion!" "Well," one of the shortest and most mild-manner senators, Senator Prettoon, spoke, "you see, that is what were are arguing about." Piccolo scowled, "Then summon us after you have come to a consensus, not before," he turned abruptly, placing the Silencing Stick gently where he found it and starting to leave, the pack following. "Piccolo wait," Deskur called after him, Piccolo ignored him.

Piccolo was just about to open the door when another werewolf LLT-ed into the room. He was out of breath and wounded, "Senators! Drakengalaci has broken free of his cell!" "What?" The senators drew their full attention to this new werewolf. Piccolo paused, sensing his pack was about to be dispatched, "Drakengalaci?" He turned and asked the wounded man. The werewolf turned, barely noticing the Elite Pack's presence, "Yes, the ice dragon." Piccolo looked at the senators, "We have an ice dragon in captivity?" "yes," Deskur spoke, "we have several dragons, fire, grass, water, ice, Drakengalaci is the only demonic ice dragon we have though, and a brute he is." "A demonic ice dragon?" Piccolo could hardly believe what he was hearing, "Why the hell do we have dra- you know what, never mind, I don't really care. The Pack will go and subdue this demon dragon, and when we get back, you best have come to an accord and assign us this mission you spoke of in your summons." The Pack used LLT to go to the stables they new were below in the great Alpha Chamber, but had never been to.

There was an odd state of light, a mixture between dusk and dawn in the stables. There was also much rubble in the area, and a few werewolves lying dead on the floor, but no dragon. A booming roar bellowed from the creature outside of the cave-like stables the pack had transported to. Piccolo walked down the tunnel and looked out from the mouth of the cave, "Joy," he said under his breath sarcastically. There, flying and fighting about fifteen werewolves, was an enormous dragon, it's scales pitch black and a pale blue. It had long talons on every foot and a clubbed and spiked tail, complete with silver blue eyes capable of striking fear in most enemies. Piccolo returned to the rest of the pack, removed his shirt and shoes, "We're all going to need to transform." They nodded and followed suit, removing any clothing that would not stretch to accommodate their transformation. Once they were transformed and ready for battle, they charged out of the cave and entered the fray…

_Sorry it took so long, I'm back in school. I'll try to write more soon, but I have finals, mid-terms and projects galore coming up so we'll see. Thank you to all review and read, and please send some more, I love reviews!_

_Elieare _


	9. Chapter 8: Dragons

Disclaimer: Still have not randomly gotten rights to DBZ, I do own the bronchitis currently plaguing my lungs though, but you can have that if you want.

_I would like to apologize to my readers for Chapter 5, I'm not sure how it happened but for some reason instead of the fifth chapter it was another one-shot story that I did, I've fixed it so if you feel a little lost or you want to check out what you missed you now can, again it's Chapter 5: Missions, and again I apologize (bows). Thanks goes out to Mirai-Gogeta for pointing the mistake out, I owe you big time. _

Chapter 8: Dragons 

Piccolo and the rest of the pack charged, Jax sending orders telepathically.

Piccolo got a few questioning glances but he snarled, "Focus you fools, or you'll end up like the werewolves at the stables." They all snapped their heads back to the dragon they were charging.

"_Piccolo_," Jax telecommunicated, "_I'll leave you to act as you please, you know what you can do right now better than I._" Piccolo nodded and grunted his approval.

The others broke into a standard attack formation and pounced, two on either wing, one on its head and one on its back. Piccolo hung back, waiting for an opening. He saw at least a dozen other dragons flying around, some small enough to fit on his shoulder, others almost as large as the demonic ice dragon. They were flying around frantically, ever so often crashing into a force field, "Good, that means that the creature is at least somewhat contained," Piccolo thought.

He kept an eye on the now thrashing Drakengalaci, while he came up to the leader of the werewolves that had all ready been there, "Tell your men to back off, focus on capturing the other dragons, you'll just get in our way if you try to help us."

The werewolf nodded and spread the order to the rest of his pack.

Piccolo focused on his enemy more now, it was fast, and powerful, definitely giving the Elite Pack trouble. Then he saw it, his chance. He zoomed in and barreled into the thing's chest, it backed up a little and was distracted so that the rest of the pack could connect with good, solid hits. The dragon roared with rage and lashed with its tail. Piccolo saw the tail coming, but his mind was still slow and his body reacted too late. The blow winded him and sent him careening back. He rammed into another dragon and then into the side of the mountain were the stables were. He looked up and saw a blast of black-tinted stream of ice from the dragon's mouth aimed for him. Piccolo opened his transformed mouth and gathered his energy as quickly as possible; he was barely able to release the attack in time. The two creatures struggled, deadlocked. The Elite Pack crashed down upon the dragon; one of them kicked its mouth shut. Steams of the ice exploded from the sides of its mouth and its nose as its head jerked back. Piccolo continued his attack and the blast hit the dragon's chest, slamming it into the force field. Two other Elite members shot their own blast, the dragon dodged one, but the other tore through one of its wings. It howled and crashed to the forest below. The battle was far from over though.

Piccolo panted, his mind was screaming in pain, his ears ringing fiercely and his vision blurred. He collapsed to his knees in the crater his impact had made. "Darn it," Piccolo hissed and grabbed his head. He vaguely made out the dragon leaping back into the air, using only one wing and attack with twice the ferocity from before. The Elite Pack was in trouble. Piccolo tried to stand, but the action resulted with him crashing to the ground face first, his mind shattered with pain. He relaxed as much as he could without losing his transformation. The pain slowly subsided. It was then Piccolo noticed how bright it was for nighttime, surely the sun had set since this battle had begun. He rolled over and glanced up in the sky. There, blazing with full intensity was the full moon. He smiled, "Excellent, that means I don't have to struggle to keep the transformation, and we can power up." He relaxed completely; the pain went away. He then haphazardly constructed some mental barriers to hold off the pain from returning as much as possible. That done he got to his feet and started absorbing the moonlight. He could feel his body being energized, the warmth of it coursing through him. He had almost absorbed enough to hit the SSL (super-saturated lunar) state, which was much like a Saiyans level of Super Saiyan. Piccolo felt a rush of energy flood through him, it felt like it would explode from him, he let go and transformed. His usually black fur was pure white and blinding white lunar energy swirled about him. He charged, his speed less than usual but faster than when he was normal.

Piccolo pounced the dragons head, the tail went to t sweep him off but Piccolo caught it and bellowed, "Transform as I distract him!"

The others nodded and started absorbing moonlight. Piccolo lept up at an angle so the clubbed tail did no damage, then slid down its back, his claws making deep gashes. The thing turned suddenly, swinging taloned arms and tail. Piccolo narrowly dodged another sweeping tail blow, and backed up enough so that claws sliced open his chest and stomach but did not impale him. Then he countered, biting the dragon's neck and slicing it with its claws. The thing screeched and swiped at Piccolo, knocking him to the side. It tried to fire its icy breath again but only succeeded in enlarging the holes Piccolo's teeth had made as the gist of it shot from its neck. Piccolo easily dodged the weak stream of ice that was fired at him and moved in, the others were also SSL transformed now. They were forming a net of moonlight energy, once it was formed enough Piccolo charged the dragon and forced it into the net and sealed it in. It raged, randomly lashing out. Its clubbed tail slammed into one of the other werewolves head; he flew to the forest below. One of its claws dug into another of them.

"Quickly," Jax shouted, "make the holes in the net smaller.

As fast as they could while dodging the random attacks, they added more strings of the moonlight cords to the net, eventually it could no longer attack them with tail or claws.

"Now tighten it before he tries to shake it off."

They did so as the thing bayed and shot ice, the two streams not even close to hitting them. Once it could no longer move at all, it stopped resisting. Piccolo panted, it was very exerting to keep such a massive being contained and his mental barriers were beginning to fail. They passed the growling and glaring beast of to the stable pack, which had rounded up the rest of the dragons up already. Frank went down to the forest and returned with an unconscious Luke. The others powered down and went to their normal state. Their bodies wanted to remain transformed with the moon out, but since they had met, the need one it was bearable. Frank was bleeding badly from the dragon had grabbed him while they were binding it, so was Piccolo from earlier, Delenn's right arm dangled uselessly at her side, crushed Piccolo suspected, and Jax's backside was completely frozen.

"Should we check on the senators?" Jax asked.

Piccolo's head throbbed, he didn't really want to and Luke looked like he needed to be rushed to the hospital, he sighed inwardly, "I'll go alone, you four go to the hospital and get checked out, I'll meet you there."

Jax looked like he was deciding whether or not he should insist he stay but then nodded and they LLT'd out of sight. Piccolo headed back to the senator's hall.

_That's all this time. It may be a little but before I update again, I want to go back and fix typos in the other chapters and I'm still pretty busy with school._

_Elieare_


	10. Chapter 9 Demands and Training

Disclaimer: "Abandon all hope ye who enter here"- for you are about to delve into the twisted mind of one writer who has no rights for a lot of the characters she's writing about, a man name Akira Toriyama owns them.

From The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

If I seem a little loopy, this chapter its cuz I've got a hunk of sugar cane. (insert evil smiley)

CHAPTER 9: DEMANDS AND TRAINING

Piccolo stood outside the doors that lead to the Alpha Chamber's main hall for the second time that night. His head pounded, the mental barriers he had formed had collapsed, "_What is it with this neuro-poison? I've never had one be so persistent." _He collected himself and opened the doors; for once, the senators were quiet.

"Your dragon is once more captive, what is it that you want with us?" Piccolo demanded, not wanting to be there longer than he had to.

"Where is the rest or you pack?" Deskur questioned.

"Injured, I sent them to the hospital, now what do you want?"

The senators glanced at each other, "We were hoping the whole pack would be here," Prettoon squeaked.

"Well, they're not, so get on with it," Piccolo needed to hurry, he was becoming dizzy and the pain in his head was worsening.

"Fine," hotheaded Lunaro spat, "since we are at a time of war, the Elite Pack will take over the now vacant spots of our government."

"What?" Piccolo was unable to contain his surprise.

"Yes," Deskur took over, "Jax will become the Second, the others, senators, and you will be chancellor."

Piccolo couldn't believe it, he grabbed a hold of his emotions and spoke, "I cannot speak for the rest of the pack, but I do not want to be chancellor; I'm a warrior, _not_ a politician."

"That is exactly why we want you as chancellor, because you _are_ a warrior," spoke Wilmentin, one of the few quiet senators.

"Then find another warrior," Piccolo replied and suppressed the urge to clamp his hands over his head.

"This isn't a request," Lunaro interrupted, "as is our custom, at the next lunar eclipse, you will become chancellor and your pack will be integrated into our ranks.

Piccolo couldn't think straight, and even if he could, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of this anyway. Well, if he was going to have to be chancellor, he might as well take advantage of it, "Fine, but as compensation, I will add a member to my pack."

"Who," Deskur questioned.

Piccolo sneered, "Does it matter? I'll add him either way," he raised a hand up to halt the coming outburst, "but his name is Gohan, he was recently bitten, and I wish to handle his training."

"A newbie on the Elite Pack? Never," Lunaro said.

"You no longer have a say in the matter, you know as well as I that to the public I have no power until the next eclipse, but in these halls I am already chancellor. Gohan will become part of the Elite Pack." Piccolo almost pitched back, his head spinning. He LLT-ed to the hospital before Lunaro began his retorting outburst. The effort got him to his destination, but also caused him to collapse and pass out.

When Piccolo woke up he was relieved to find his head did not hurt at all. He tried to move but found he was strapped to the bed, he tugged at the restraints but it did no good. "Damn that doctor," he hissed. As if this had been a cue, the doctor entered the room.

"Ah, good, you're awake."

Piccolo growled, "Untie from this bed."

The doctor laughed, "Not until after I check to make sure the antidote has completely counteracted the nuero-poison."

"Antidote? Why didn't you give me that before? And how long was I out this time?"

"Only two days and I didn't give you the antidote because I hadn't made it yet. You see, you were not the only one who was admitted because of this new neuro-poison, however, most of them were not as lucky as you. It's amazing how many new resources you gain after you've lost five patients," Piccolo detected the bitterness in that last bit. Unsure of what to say, Piccolo remained silent.

The doctor unhooked Piccolo and undid his restraints, "You're clean."

"Good," Piccolo said and got up, "and never do that again," he glared at the restraints.

The doctor laughed, "Well, it was the only way to assure that you wouldn't randomly wake up and leave before your treatment was complete again."

Piccolo was going for the doorknob when the door suddenly swung open and smacked him in the face. He just stood there, ignoring the pain in his nose, "You know, it's customary to knock before you open the door kid."

"Oh, I'm sorry Piccolo, I was just too excited when I heard you were awake."

Piccolo glared at him, but Gohan knew better than to fall for his feigning anger.

"Well, it's good to see you up and about too," Piccolo, said.

Gohan grinned, he also knew that was Piccolo's way of saying that he'd been worried about him, "Yeah, I was worried about you too."

Gohan had to try really hard to not snicker as he saw his mentor blush.

"I still wish you hadn't become one of us," Piccolo said, "but you are. The only thing I can do now is train you."

Gohan grinned, "Sounds fun, I've always wanted to do more training with you. Oh dad had to leave, but he said he looks forward to fighting you again sometime, although I'm not sure how he manages to do that since he's dead."

"He probably didn't even think of that knowing your father. Now follow me," Piccolo exited to the ward where the rest of the pack was, "Let's head out."

The pack nodded and LLT-ed.

"Put your hand on my shoulder," Piccolo said to Gohan. Gohan did so and the hospital disappeared and a dark chamber made of concrete replaced it.

"Where is this?"

"Training facility. Now, you won't be able to control your transformation until after your first one brought on by the full moon, so all I can do now is teach you things like LLT and what we call the Way of the Wolf Form."

"What's that?

"You saw at the tournament when I got down on all fours correct?"

"Yeah, I remember thinking how much your technique had changed."

"That's the form, I normally still use my usual technique, I save the other form as my ace or when I know my opponent is exceptionally strong, like Marcus. I'll demonstrate, I'm going to come at you full force without using the technique."

Gohan got into a defensive position; nostalgia crept up on him as he was reminded of his training days in the desert with Piccolo when he was four. The Namek charged, Gohan was surprised at his speed and barely blocked the attack, his arm protested from the force of the blow.

"Gee whiz Piccolo, you have been training really hard haven't you?"

Piccolo smirked and backed up, "Now I'm going to come at you full force using the Way of the Wolf Form."

Piccolo got on all fours and Gohan braced himself again. This time, he hardly saw Piccolo move, and before he knew it, Piccolo had kicked him in the chest and he was sent pitching backwards and into the wall.

"Whoa! That was insane, you were at least twice as fast, not to mention that blow was much stronger!"

Piccolo nodded, "That is what you will be able to do if you master this form as well. At first, you will be much slower and your attacks less powerful, but as the muscles you normally do not use strengthen you will be able to put your entire body behind attacks and use the combined strength of your arms and legs to move faster and with more agility."

"Sounds like fun," Gohan said.

The two trained for a long time until Gohan collapsed, " phew I need a breather."

Piccolo nodded and sat down next to him, he'd never admit it, but he needed the break as well.

"I'm impressed Piccolo, I bet you could keep up with me even if I was at an Ascended Super Saiyan now."

"Perhaps, maybe tomorrow we'll test that theory out."

Gohan grinned, "Yeah." A silence followed.

Gohan sat up; deciding now would be a good time to ask a question that had been on his mind, "Hey Piccolo?"

"Yeah kid?"

"Why did you so adamantly wish me to not become a werewolf? I mean, it's certainly ideal, but it's not _that_ bad."

Piccolo looked at him, "You're not cut out for immortality."

"What?"

"For both werewolves and Vampyres you hit a certain age and then never age, conventional weapons don't work on you and your body will regenerate so quickly that not even a _chi_ blast from Goku could kill you. You'll have to watch your family and friends get old and die, as you remain young and healthy. I'm not very… social. However you are, it will not be easy for you."

"Oh c'mon, I heard in the hospital that werewolves were dying," Gohan said; Piccolo knew him well, he didn't like the sound of that.

"Correct, the only things that can kill a werewolf is silver, and the energy that Vampyres use, and the only way to kill a Vampyre is with sunlight or the energy we werewolves use."

"What's the difference?"

"In terms of sensing the chi signature, nothing besides the fact that the signal seems scattered, but they are different types. The energy Vampyres use is derived from nighttime itself, in a sense, they harness the night as a weapon. Werewolves get their power from lunar light. We literally absorb moonlight and use it, and since moonlight is just reflected sunlight, it is extremely effective against Vampyres."

"Why silver?"

"We're not entirely sure why, but all we know is that silver not only burns us but it stops the quick regeneration, so a silver wound will take twice as long to heal than the time it would have when one was not a werewolf, same with the night energy Vampyres use."

"Is that how you got those scars?"

Piccolo nodded, "Yes, they took so long to heal, and they never completely have. Now other things can temporarily halt the regeneration process, like the energy dragons use, they harness the elements, and wounds given by them are saturated with their energy so you won't heal until it dissipates, which it naturally does, but that can take time."

"That's insane, I think I like the normal old _chi_ I've always used," Gohan sighed.

Piccolo smiled, "You can still use it, just remember to keep up a supply of lunar energy, for if you run out of that you won't heal either."

"You know, for immortals there certainly are a lot of things that can stop regeneration and kill us."

Piccolo smirked, "I suppose there is, shall we continue with the training?"

"Of course."

** :: **

A month had passed; the war was at a standstill. The Vampyres had agreed to aide the Logomorphs in their battle, so the Supremacist Pact agreed to begin talks, but it was obvious that it was only a matter of time before fighting started again. Piccolo was dreading the coming eclipse; it was only twenty days away now. He pushed this out of his mind; he was supposed to be relaxing. He focused on the sound of his favorite waterfall, one of the only reasons why he agreed to join Gohan on Earth. Speaking of Gohan, the id was heading for him now. He'd no doubt just gotten out of school, but why was Gohan coming towards him? The half-Saiyan usually headed home or stayed in the city a little doing that "Great Saiyaman" thing he was so fond of. Well, Piccolo would find out soon enough.

"Hey Piccolo," Gohan said, though he didn't expect a reply from his meditating mentor. Gohan waited a couple of minutes, then saw Piccolo open his eyes and come out of his meditating position, "Hey Gohan, what brings you here?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come to a party Bulma's throwing at the Capsule Corp. tonight," Gohan knew the answer all ready before Piccolo opened his mouth so he kept going, "you can't hide out here forever you know."

"I'm not hiding," Piccolo replied.

"Yes you are, why else would you isolate yourself here when you have plenty of people who wouldn't mind your company?"

"My company not being minded and being enjoyed are two different things, besides, there are plenty of people who do mind my presence."

"Aw, c'mon, please? I invited Videl, so I'm gonna be all nervous and it would be extremely helpful if you were there."

"Why?"

"Well, you can help me make sure I don't make a fool of myself in front of Videl or make her mad."

"Gohan, do you realize who you're asking for dating tips? Krillin would be much more aide to you."

Gohan turned red and looked at his feet, a common habit when he was embarrassed, "I know, but… I don't know, I just want you to be there that's all…"

Piccolo looked at the crestfallen teenager, "Kami, when did he learn how to convince me like that?" he thought. He sighed, "Fine I'll go, just send me a message when you want me to show up and I'll LLT over there."

"ALL RIGHT! Thanks Piccolo, see you later!" With that, Gohan took off.

_MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! Sorry if this chappie was a little boring, the next one will be more interesting._

_Elieare_


	11. Chapter 10 Assassins

Disclaimer: if you think that I own Dragon Ball Z or anything pertaining to DBZ your logic is not only severely flawed but you may want to invest in a nice white room, complete with cushioned walls, conveniently located at your nearest insane asylum.

_Wow, ten chapters all ready, if you've read this far I give you my sincerest and utmost gratitude, thank you. I got the DBZ game for the Wii! It's a lot of fun, for special moves you actually have to do stuff like the Kamehameha stance, put the controller to your forehead and then out for Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon and stuff like that, you feel stupid but you still have fun._

CHAPTER 10: Assassins

Piccolo couldn't help but think, "_Why did I agree to this_?" when Gohan contacted him a couple hours later. He mentally sighed, and as promised, he LLT'd to where Gohan was and found himself in the Capsule Corps. garage.

"Hey Piccolo!" Gohan greeted in his dress suit.

"Is this a party of a funeral?" Piccolo commented.

"Ha ha, my mom just insisted on it that's all, everyone else will be dressed casually like you," Gohan smiled and looked to the sky, searching for something.

Piccolo remembered what Gohan had told him earlier and asked, "Are you waiting for Videl?"

Gohan shifted his weight from one foot to another nervously, "Y-yeah."

The harsh but feminine voice of Chi-chi called from the door, "Hey Gohan, how long are you going to wait all alone out there?"

"I'm not alone mom, Piccolo's with me."

"Oh," Chi-chi looked wearily at Piccolo, obviously not satisfied with Gohan's answer, but knowing it was useless to voice this opinion to either men. Chi-chi looked like she would join the two, but Bulma called her from inside, "Hey Chi-chi, can you give me a hand?"

Chi-chi gave Piccolo a rather nasty look then went inside, "Yeah, I'm coming Bulma," and shut the door behind her.

"Your mother never will get used to me will she?" Piccolo said.

"Hm? Aw, that's just how she is, it's not like she hates you anymore though."

Piccolo raised and eyebrow and gave Gohan a look that said, "Wanna bet?"

Gohan chuckled, "Okay fine, she may still hate you a little, but she's learned to accept you since you have helped defend Earth. Oh, hey there's Videl," he gulped.

"Good, I'll be out back okay?" Piccolo said.

Gohan looked shocked, "You're not going to stay with me?"

"Nope, I'd rather not see you two love birds stumble over your words," he replied and started for the door Chi-chi had been at a minute of two before.

"Oh gee, some help you are!"

Piccolo smirked and faced Gohan right before he opened the door; "I told you Krillin would have been more of an aide to you, besides I'd only make things awkward."

Piccolo left just as he heard Videl greet the teenage werewolf. With nothing better to do, he strolled out to the back where everyone else was. Everyone was scattered about and chatting. Piccolo found a secluded tree and began meditating under it. Fifteen minutes later Gohan walked up to him, "Still hiding?"

Piccolo looked at him, he saw Videl standing next to him, "I told you, I'm not hiding, I'm just not social."

"Aw, c'mon Piccolo, join the group, they're starting to swap stories and I'm sure you could give some interesting one from those seven years you were gone."

Piccolo glared, "Do I look like a story-teller to you?"

"Fine then," he said exasperated, "Just listen to what they say then."

"You're not going to leave me alone until I do huh?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Fine, I'll listen, but nothing more."

Piccolo was leaning against the wall a good ten feet away from the group when an energy signal suddenly appeared on his senses. "_Damn! How'd they get so close_!" "Gohan, BLOODS!" He warned just as two obviously elite Vampyres swooped down on them. Piccolo caught a glimpse of a tattoo in his attackers arm as he dodged the knife thrown at him, "_No, it can't be. It's the Prime! Then the other one is no doubt the Secondary_." He connected with Gohan telepathically, "_Gohan, be careful, they will be better-trained and much stronger than any other opponent you've ever faced."_

"_Gotcha." _The two Vampyres screeched at a frequency that made Piccolo wince and their chi exploded as the two got into identical stances. Piccolo recognized it; he had seen it right before Brayovack had died. He charged for Gohan and barely got him out of the way before the two struck. He lost feeling to his body as one of the Vampyres arms drilled through his chest, and the other through his stomach. Piccolo felt his life force drain from him, that's how this technique worked, the two Vampyres combined their energy and teleported in front of their victim, moving so fast they can't dodge, then they impale the unlucky werewolf and use their energy to drain the victim until death within a handful of seconds. "_Guess I'll have to get desperate and use that technique._" "OVERDRIVE!!" Feeling rushed back through him as his every molecule of his body was supersaturated with lunar energy, he threw off the two surprised Vampyrian assassins and allowed the energy to heal his wound, then he let go of the form. He instantly felt fatigue, his muscles no doubt had torn, but he ignored it. "Gohan, Way of the Wolf!" Both he and Gohan got down on all fours.

Gohan said, "Let's show them what teamwork really is!" As the Vampyres charged them again, Piccolo and Gohan fought together, as if they were two in a pack of wolves. The Vampyres struggled against them, they had never seen a pair of werewolves fight together as flawlessly as Gohan and Piccolo, and their technique paled in comparison.

The fight seemed even until Krillin suddenly jumped in and kicked one of the Vampyres in the face, throwing him off and allowing the werewolf duo to hammer their opponents with fierce blows. The other Z warriors charged, following Krillin's lead. The two Vampyres backed up and shot a beam with so much night energy it seemed impossible. "Everyone back off!" Piccolo yelled and fired a blast of his own to combat it.

Gohan got behind Piccolo, out his hands on his mentor's back and poured his lunar energy into the Namek. The two blasts collided, the Vampyre's blast slowed but it wasn't stopping. Gohan and Piccolo unleashed their maximum amount of energy; it held the blast in place. The two Vampyres suddenly released more energy. "What? Impossible, something's not right here." Piccolo thought. He searched in vain for energy that was no there as the two of them were being overwhelmed. The other Z fighters fired their own blasts, but the night energy canceled it out. The blast was only a couple feet away. " sigh , I'm going to pay for this."

"OVERDRIVE!!" The energy charged him again and he cut it lose onto the Vampyres. He managed to overwhelm them but they teleported away before it annihilated them.

"All right! That was awesome Piccolo!" Gohan yelled as he panted.

Piccolo pitched forward and was completely still. Gohan pushed Piccolo onto his back, he noticed the Namek's hands were charred and smoking all the way up to his elbows, then he noticed, "He's not breathing!" Gohan used his last ounce of energy to LLT to the hospital.

_I know, I know, I know. It's freakishly short, and overdue. I apologize profusely, I simple have not had the time and I have a bunch of finals to study for. So sorry._

_Elieare_


	12. Chapter 11 Investigation

Disclaimer: Logic dictates that if you think I have rights to DBZ you're either drunk, high, or gullible

Disclaimer: Logic dictates that if you think I have rights to DBZ you're either drunk, high, or gullible. Ha ha

_Hi I apologize._

Chapter 11: Investigation

"Hey doc, how's Piccolo doing today?" Gohan greeted as he strolled to the Namek's room.

"Wish I could tell you," the doctor grumbled.

Gohan stopped, "What do you mean, he didn't… die right?"

The doctor laughed, "I don't think anything can do that, he just took off that's all."

"Took off? Where to?"

"I have no clue, you're his pack-member, you have a better idea about his whereabouts then I ever could."

"_Hm, Piccolo… I wish you would've told me… maybe one of the others know where he is_," Gohan thought, "s_igh I doubt it though, it probably didn't even occur to him to fill us in on his plan_."

Meanwhile, on a distant planet…

A small man wearing only rags turned off the main road and into an alley he was rather fond of. His appearance was mouse-like, the light brown fur that covered his body only enhancing that fact. He settled down next to a dumpster, shrouded in darkness.

"I thought I'd find you here Drackus."

"Wh-who's there?" the man squeaked.

A tall hooded figure sat next to him, "an old friend."

The mouse-man sniffed the air and smiled, "Of course, how could I not recognize that wolfish stench you have?"

The hooded figured chuckled, "It's good to see you again too."

"So what brings you here? I heard you were climbing to a much higher position of power, so what could you possibly want from a homeless street-mouse like me?"

"Information, I'm looking for someone, I believe his a packing mule of yours."

"I have quite a few packing mules."

"Yes, but this one would stand out, with the _gustavoise_ and all."

"Ah yes, _that_ one. Last I heard he ran into a spot of trouble with a Rackilijan freighter owner named Houstent. And you know how those Rackilijan's are, so he's most likely dead. It's a shame, he was one of my few steady runners too."

"I see… well, guess I'll have to find my information some other way."

"Sorry bout that, good to see you again," he extended his clawed hand for a handshake. From the recesses of the cloak the other met this gesture with his own, green hand, then left.

The mouse-man watched the figure disappear into the throng of people on the main street, "_I hope he got all that, codes are quite tricky. Of course, Piccolo's a smart man_."

Piccolo snuck onto the nearest interplanetary cruiser that would soon depart and made himself comfortable among the passengers' possessions in the cargo hold. "_Okay, he said Houstent, the only Rackilijan freighter owner we know who doesn't get violent with passengers that misbehave, and that the man I was looking for was one of his steady customers, so that means my target delivered a load for him using Houstents freighter, and the only planet I know of that Houstent will do that for is Frekileta. But is he still there? Let's see he said he was most likely dead right? So that means he either got stranded there or he didn't make it to his destination and I need to talk to Houstent… now, the last time he told me someone died he meant they didn't reach their destination, but he gave me a hint to where Houstent was… a spot of trouble, of course, the spotted planet of Jisdwer, where anarchy reins supreme. Hm, this is a standard cruiser so it won't stop at Jisdwer, but it should go to Y'heruck; I can catch a connecting flight there. Good, now I just have to kill a eleven hours and make sure I don't get caught_."

"Entering Post Light-Speed Mode," a voice over the intercom announced and the lights dimmed to compensate for the energy it needed.

In the passenger area the seatbelt signs were no doubt flashing, but Piccolo didn't have that luxury so he braced himself by squeezing between two boxes and holding onto the rails along their sides for what was supposed to be lifting purposes. The ship suddenly jolted as its speed increased by an unfathomable number. Piccolo felt himself be pressed against the cargo hold's wall. One of the large crates across from him suddenly broke loose from its bonds and came sliding towards the Namek.

"Oh, crap," he did the best he could to lift his legs and halt the crate. He felt one of his knees pop out of place and his ribs bend, he gritted his teeth as he fought the crate that continued to press against him. The ship finally reached it's desired speed and cut acceleration abruptly. The crate slid away from Piccolo due to the sudden stabilization. Piccolo grabbed his knee, "_Dammit, if only I wasn't still recovering I wouldn't even have to be on this bloody ship. At least I have enough energy to heal this knee though_." Before he could carry this plan out though he heard the door open.

Two security guards walked in, "See I told you it was just a crate that came loose," one said.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get it back to where it's supposed to be."

"Ha ha, you're just sore because it wasn't the "Space Ghost" everyone's been saying has been blowing up ships from the cargo holds."

"Shuddap, it could happen."

Piccolo watched the two men push the crate back into place and secure it again from the ceiling.

"Yeah, well, if you ask me it's just those damned Tularian terrorists again, you know how they used to sneak onto ships and put bombs near any volatile cargo."

"Just because you don't believe in ghosts doesn't mean…" they left, the door slamming behind them.

Piccolo waited a couple minutes then jumped down and healed his knee. "Well, I might as well get some sleep."

/\\

Fourteen hours later, Piccolo sat down next to Houstent, the red, almost dinosaur-like man, at a diner and ordered water.

"Well, well, what brings you here Green Furball?"

"Oh, just inquiring about some cargo you transported, Red Wuss."

"I transport a lot of cargo."

"Why does everyone say that?"

"Well, you're question is rather vague, so of course you're going to get a vague answer."

"Unless of course you're patient so I can be more detailed."

"Ha ha, I suppose."

"Anyways, I believe the cargo was on your last Frekileta route."

"Ah, that one, yeah, hit a cosmic storm on the way, had to make an emergency landing on Sylvanro, had a lot of damage to the ship, the client told me the goods would spoil and sent someone else to pick it up."

"Do you know where they took it?"

"Psh, you think I know? They could have taken it to Kingdom of the Dead for all I care."

"That's all you have?"

"That's all, look I don't go stickin' my nose in customer's business, man gets his head chopped off doin' stuff like that."

"All right, all right, I was just asking."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, I guess I'll poke around a little."

"Yup, see ya around."

Piccolo got up and left, he was stopped at the door, "Sir, you didn't pay for your drink, it's thirty sheleanos."

"Put it on my Rackilijan friend's tab."

"Yes sir, we hope to see you again."

Piccolo sighed, "_All right, the goods would spoil, that means my target had something besides the drugs he was transporting, something Houstent couldn't even figure out, he was picked up by someone else. He mentioned the Kingdom of the Dead, if I remember correctly, he called the planet of Bokidarris that once because it was constantly shrouded in thick rain clouds. His mention of getting his head chopped off no doubt meant my target will be leaving the planet soon, although it certainly is probable he would beheaded for giving me information. Well looks like another long flight in another cargo hold_, _hopefully my target won't have moved on by the time I get there_."

Halfway through the flight, Piccolo was awoken by people stirring in the cargo. He stiffened, and pinpointed the noise. It was coming from the inside of the crate he was leaning on. "What the-" he sprang up onto the ceiling as the box suddenly opened. Two figures emerged from it; they were surrounded by an odd… mist almost. It was hard to describe, it was more a distortion, but not quite. Piccolo sniffed for their scent and recognized it immediately. One of them started banging on the walls, which promptly caused the security guards to come running in.

"What the Hell?!" They yelled and shot at the two figures, but the bullets went right through them, and then they raised their arms. Piccolo covered his eyes, he knew this attack; it knocked out anyone who saw it. He waited until he heard the guards fall to the floor than opened his eyes and saw the two figures place charges by a crate that had, "Caution" and "Danger" written in different languages all over it.

"So that's how you've been doing it." Piccolo said.

The two snapped their attention to him; he swooped down on them before they could react, hitting them both in the same place on their backs. Small mechanical devices that were there exploded and the distortion that had shrouded them fell.

"So, how did the Tularian terrorists get their hands on Dimensional Shifters?"

They hissed and ready an attack.

"I wouldn't suggest that, now that I destroyed your Dimensional Shifters I can easily hit you."

They hissed at him and went to strike, but Piccolo came down from the ceiling and knocked them out with a single blow. He tied them up, gagged them, and placed their broken dimension Shifters in front of them, then went back on the ceiling, hiding in a more secluded area.

Eventually the security guards woke up and say the Tularians.

"What the, what's this?"

"Oy, these look kinda like the blokes that attacked us but without the distortion."

"Yeah, look at these devices, these are what made it possible for them to disguise ourselves, and why our bullets passed through them."

"I bet this been 'ow they been goin' around blowin up cargo ships, every ship carries explosive material, if not goods than emergency fuel, I bet they would hide in a crate, wait for us to get deep into space then blow charges next to the fuel and not leave a trace cuz they know we can't trace charges when they go off so close to the emergency fuel and these here things would allow them to survive the blast, use their energy to make a field of breathable air, then turn themselves completely invisible until they got far enough away so they could be picked up by their fellows!"

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing, however, there are two problems, one: why would terrorists not claim their role in this, and two, if we were knocked out, who knocked out them and tied them up."

They both pulled out their guns, "We must have a hitchhiker."

Piccolo just watched as they turned the cargo bay upside down, the intercom finally turned on announced the drop out of Post Light-Speed Mode as they approached their destination. Piccolo smirked.

The security guard said, "Tell the Captain to hold the ship at a complete standstill until we find the hitchhiker, I'll stay here and keep an eye out for him."

Piccolo inwardly sighed, then swooped down and knocked them out again. They decelerated abruptly and Piccolo found himself pinned against the wall in a most uncomfortable position, especially after one of the guards crashed into him, and even more thoroughly annoyed when they returned to normal speed and he crashed to the floor. However, he was able to escape undetected, and thus, able to move onward with his investigation that only he knew the purpose of.

_That's all for this chappie, next time: What is it that Piccolo is looking for? Will he find the answers to what he seeks? Or will he find himself on the wrong end of an attack?"_

_Elieare_


End file.
